32 MARCH / APRIL 2021 ATM Loss Alert! Don’t get dragged down by ‘hook and chain’ attempts IBA INSURANCE SOLUTIONS This article, written by my friend Craig Collins of Intact Financial Services (formerly One Beacon), details a type of claim that we are seeing our client banks deal with more and more. He offers some excellent advice on Chuck Maggard President/CEO IBA Insurance Solutions cmaggard@inbankersins.com IBA Insurance Solutions is a Preferred Service Provider and subsidiary of the Indiana Bankers Association. how to help your bank be better protected. If you’d like for us to review your bank’s insurance coverages, just give us a shout or shoot us an email. We’d be happy to take a look. It is well known that ATMs are subject to many different types of attacks, from skimming or tampering to robbery. In the last few months, the U.S. has seen a spike in a new type of assault on ATMs, labeled “hook and chain” attacks. In this style of attack, criminals are attaching chains or cables to the ATM, hooking those chains to a vehicle and attempting to physically pull off the door of the safe of the ATM. Drive-up island ATMs have been particularly vulnerable in such incidents, as well as stand-alone ATMs at remote locations such as a gas station or a business after hours. To mitigate risk, your bank should refer to the following tips to protect ATMs: Procedural Considerations • Test/upgrade the ATM alarm. Confirm with both your alarm monitoring company and local law enforcement that an alarm originating from an ATM is not categorized as a burglar alarm, but as a robbery, which should initiate a quicker law enforcement response. • Maintenance. If maintenance on the machine is required, be sure branch employees are made aware of it ahead of time. A branch employee should call a specific individual at the bank or the manufacturer to confirm the legitimacy of any service visit, since criminals have been posing as authorized ATM representatives. • Vary times when ATMs are restocked. ATM thieves often surveil ATM locations in order to conduct their attack when the ATM has been recently stocked. Sporadic and random fulfillment schedules make it more difficult for the burglars to maximize the amount stolen. Additionally, limit the risk by having less cash inside the machine. Structural/Hardware Considerations • Consider placing vibration sensors and GPS trackers inside ATMs. • Safe slot reinforcement kits (door hook kits): These kits remove space surrounding the dispenser/deposit aperture and reinforce the area around it. This makes it more difficult to damage the module transports and subsequently insert a hook through the aperture in the safe door (source: NCR Corporation). • Security gate barrier kit: This is a steel gate that wraps around the ATM and is bolted to the ground. • Alarmed top hats: Consider installing metal top
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3NDExNQ==