Trends in ATM Bank Robberies (And How You Can Prevent Them from Happening)

Since their introduction into financial institutions in the late 1960s, ATMs (or automated teller machines) have created an easy, low-contact way to serve customers at their fingertips. They’ve not only provided a quicker, more simple way to bank, but they’ve also created a way to increase branch efficiency, give tellers more time to spend on complex transactions, and allow banks to serve customers past a normal operating time. 

However, with ease and convenience also comes potential threats. Because these machines are not protected within the four walls of the secure financial institution, they are more susceptible to theft, robbery and destruction. The three most common types of crimes involving ATMs generally involve, physical attacks on machines, card skimming devices added onto machines to steal private customer information, and robberies at or near the machines.¹

Over the last five years, there hasn’t been a large differential of change between the total number of ATM thefts, and the number of successful thefts nationwide. According to the Criminal Investigative Division of the FBI, in 2018, 21% of the attempted ATM thefts were successful, decreasing to 16% in 2019, 17% in 2020, 19% in 2021, and 17% in 2022. 

However, the ATM attack tactics and types have drastically changed year over year. Here’s a list of the types of ATMs attacks and their year over year increase or decrease based on the statistics gathered from 2021 and 2022.

Types of ATM Attacks

There are often contributing factors that can help financial institutions understand when and how these robberies are occuring. Most robberies occur at night usually between midnight and 4 a.m., they’re almost always committed by a lone offender usually carrying a weapon, they’re more likely to occur at a walk-up ATM than a drive-through, and the average loss is somewhere between $100 and $200.²

Preventative Measures

The great thing about today’s technology and security measures is that your business doesn’t have to be another statistic. There are many different ways that you can protect your business from theft, damage and attacks on your property. Here at Bankpak, we help to provide businesses with solutions that are cost effective, manageable and easy to install. 

Some of the preventative measures we recommend to institutions in order to protect against ATM robberies are as follows:

• Install an ATM gate. Made for island ATMs, an ATM gate provides additional protection for ATMs and their internal contents. Most are made of heavy steel and can be equipped to activate an immediate alarm when activated by your security provider. 
• Install advanced cameras with analytics targeted at ATM robberies. Bankpak offers a hook and chain analytic, that will detect when a vehicle is perpendicular to an ATM and immediately dispatch authorities.
• Install sirens and remote speakers to warn against loitering. Because most robberies are attempted in the late night or early morning, it’s important to draw as much attention to the culprit as possible. By installing sirens or speakers, you can warn thieves away from your property by having the hardware to draw attention to their crime. The sirens and remote speakers can be triggered by an advanced camera analytic or when the ATM alarm is tripped. 
• Install additional lighting and signage warning. Again, criminals do not want to hit a location that might draw attention to them, so by installing additional lighting could deter a bad actor. 

For all businesses, protecting your customers and your property should be of utmost importance, but especially when it comes to your customers’ safety. We urge you to take these preventative measures seriously and find ways to better protect and serve your property, your business and your customers.

Conclusion

Let Bankpak assist your institution in ATMs and ATM security systems at your storefront or financial institution.

We have nearly 40 years of experience in providing the latest banking and security equipment for banks and credit unions, both large and small. Often, financial institutions are on the forefront of new technology implementation, and we can help provide the systems integration that will make your project come in on time and on budget. 

By equipping each new branch and building with the latest technologies, our goal is to give your staff more time for top-tier, professional customer service. 

If you need help navigating this process, or have any questions about ATMs, contact us at Bankpak.com.

give your staff more time for top-tier, professional customer service. 

If you need help navigating this process, or have any questions about the Interactive Teller Machine program, download our ITM Guide below. 

Learn more.

For more in-depth information, contact us at info@bankpak.com