Physical ATM attacks in Europe were on the rise for the fourth consecutive year in 2018 (BAC, JPM, WF)

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Physical ATM attacks in Europe were on the rise for the fourth consecutive year in 2018 (BAC, JPM, WF)

Physical ATM attacks in Europe were on the rise for the fourth consecutive year in 2018, according to a study from the European Association for Secure Transactions (EAST). Physical ATM attacks in Europe rose 27% annually from 3,584 attacks in 2017 to 4,549 attacks in 2018. These attacks amounted to a €36 million ($40.5 million) loss, marking a 16% increase from 2017.

Physical ATM Attacks Are On the Rise in EuropeBusiness Insider Intelligence

Here’s what it means: Overall physical ATM attacks in Europe increased in 2018, although specific types of attacks were on the decline.

  • Explosive attacks were down but new markets are being affected. Explosive ATM attacks — in which criminals use physical force including solid explosives or gas to get access to an ATM — were down 3% annually. Despite that slight decline, there were still more than 1,000 incidents, in which an estimated €27,065 ($30,446) was stolen on average. And the attacks are spreading to new geographies: two countries experienced these attacks for the first time earlier this year.
  • Meanwhile, malware attacks decreased 18% annually in 2018.Only 157 ATM malware attacks were reported in 2018, down from 192 in 2017. Further, losses from payment terminal fraud also fell dramatically, down 30% to €247 million ($278 million). This fall was mainly driven by a 26% annual decrease in card skimming incidents.

The bigger picture: As ATM installations grow in certain markets and new use cases help ATMs remain relevant around the world, the threat of attacks will persist and even advance in sophistication.

  • Countries throughout Asia, Africa, LATAM, and the Middle East are seeing their ATM counts grow. Global ATM installations are expected to drop to 3.23 million by the end of 2023, after reaching a peak of 3.28 million in 2017. But that figure is skewed by China, which houses almost a quarter of the world’s ATMs and has seen significant closures due to its rapid adoption of digital payments. Many cash-dependent regions are actually adding more ATMs: In Bangladesh, for example, ATMs are projected to increase 60% by the end of 2023 as banks expand into more rural areas.
  • New use cases are keeping ATMs relevant even for consumers that are less reliant on cash. Banks, in the US in particular, are adapting their ATMs with digital capabilities to meet shifting consumer banking behavior, which will likely increase ATM engagement: Bank of America (BofA) is undergoing a multiyear effort to upgrade its network of over 16,000 ATMs with digital capabilities. 
  • While certain efforts to combat ATM attacks have worked out, banks and ATM operators will have to remain vigilant as attacks rise and new in-kind methods of fraud are developed.Certain efforts are decreasing the risk of ATM fraud: 91% of US ATMs are EMV-enabled and banks like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are adding cardless ATM access which can make the machines safe against certain types of fraud, like skimming, a common fraud method in which a device steals information off of inserted cards. But other fraud types will continue to emerge, like the recent phenomenon "jackpotting," which makes the machine spit out large amounts of money, for example. It’s in the best interest of consumers, banks, and ATM operators to develop methods to combat several types of fraud.

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SEE ALSO: THE PAYMENTS INDUSTRY ECOSYSTEM: The trend towards digital payments and key players moving markets

Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Rachel Green)

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