Ram raids, ATM break-ins and attacks at the ATM are nothing new, but they've recently caught a lot attention. From Australia to the United Kingdom to the United States, ATM deployers, especially independents, are working to address not just the loss of vault cash, but the loss of ATMs.

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Barry Schreiber, a criminal justice professor at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, has studied ATM crime for more than 20 years. Based on his research, an estimated 200 ATMs are stolen annually in the U.S. In the U.K., according to information collected by Alan Townsend of the Metropolitan Police Flying Squad, 126 ATMs were stolen from January to September.

By themselves, those numbers, which account only for the physical removal of ATMs, aren't that alarming. But add those to the overall number of attacks at the ATM, and the equation of loss is more revealing.

In the U.K., the total estimated cash loss in raids, break-ins and attacks in the first nine months of 2005 was about £6 million (U.S. $11 million). The total number of ATM incidents in the U.K., including break-ins and theft attempts, increased from 472 in 2003 to 657 in 2004. As of September, incidents for 2005 already totaled 648. And those numbers don't reflect losses associated with repairing, and in most cases, replacing stolen or damaged ATMs.

Total losses for the U.S. are difficult to gauge, said Jerry Gregory, corporate development officer of Dallas-based Cash Carriers USA, since no government agency really tracks those numbers. But losses are on the rise, he said.

As the size and weight of retail ATMs continues to decline, some industry experts believe the number of smash-and-grab raids will continue to increase. Shown above is a photograph of a reenactment submitted by Dax Bosnich of Bull Horn ATM Alarm.

Mark Coons, president of Charlotte, N.C.-based American Special Risk LLC, a company providing an ATM insurance program through the ATM Industry Association, told ATMmarketplace in 2004 his company pays about $4.5 million a year for claims related to smash-and-grab attacks. Eighty percent of those claims, an estimated 300 a year, involve the removal of an entire ATM.

'Smash and grab' on the rise?

"The biggest problem I see is smash and grab," Gregory said. "It's the most prevalent thing in our industry."

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Not surprisingly, retail locations, primarily convenience stores, are the most vulnerable, he added, because most retail ATMs weigh less than 200 pounds. "We have one store that has had its ATM rammed seven times. Last week, we had the same thing happen at two machines owned by the same customer. There's a lot of it going on." (Read also, ATM smash/grabs impact industry.)

C-stores also are the most vulnerable in the U.K. Townsend's statistics show that 30 percent of ATM thefts and attacks occur at c-store locations.

Companies are now developing products that deter thieves by preventing easy ATM break-ins or removals.

Cash Carriers, which developed its Phase II Cash System for Diebold's 1074 Island ATM, recently released its newest product, Phase II Cash Sphere.

Gregory said his company has sold between 100 and 200 of its Phase II Cash System, which delays entry into Diebold's 1074, 1074i and 1074ix by several minutes to hours. The product, which sells for less than $500, is designed to keep ATMs of any make or model bolted to the floor. It's a simple sphere design that fastens to the bottom of an ATM and is then anchored to the floor.

Other companies are marketing alarm products to deter would-be thieves. Six months ago, Dax Bosnich, owner of Cincinnati-based Bull Horn ATM Alarm, released an alarm system with a microprocessor that adheres to the bottom of an ATM's safe. If the ATM is pulled from its foundation, tilted or moved, the alarm - which produces a sound with the decibel level of a jet engine - goes off.

Shown above is an installed alarm developed and manufactured by Bull Horn ATM Alarm.

"We're selling 60 to 70 units per month, and it's been growing every month," Bosnich said of the alarm, which sells for less than $400. His company also is developing a new alarm that uses a microwave sensor to detect when the door of an ATM enclosure is opened. That product is expected to release in early 2006.

An extra layer of protection

Alarms are big business. Bosnich, who also owns Hassle Free ATMs, a Cincinnati-based ISO, developed the Bull Horn ATM Alarm after a couple of his own ATMs were hit. He said he sees potential for the market. And it's not just for retail ATMs. It's a big market for financial institutions, which have a vested interest in protecting cash, cash carriers and consumers.

California-based La Gard, a division of Computerized Security Systems and distributor of electronic-safe locks, is expected to release its Navigator lock system, which includes an alarm, in the first quarter of '06. The alarm works in duress mode and is designed to protect cash carriers and service providers, said Orlando Consalvi, the company's national product manager.

However, Consalvi said there hasn't been a great deal of interest in the duress option, since many ATMs, especially those manufactured by Diebold and NCR, come equipped with similar functions.

But protecting cash carriers and service providers is only part of the problem. Other companies are marketing products that are geared toward consumers.

Chip Minto of Safealert Systems, a division of Pace, Fla.-based North American Communications Corp., disagrees with Russikof, adding that panic buttons and similar products serve different purposes. His company's ATM911 emergency communications system, a 911 panic button, is installed at more than 2,000 U.S. ATMs.

The product is not designed to alert authorities while a crime is being committed.

Russikof, who's been tracking forced ATM withdrawals since 1999, is expected to release a new product next month that is specifically designed to thwart crimes in the making. The solution is simple, and it's similar to what La Gard includes on its Navigator lock for cash carriers and service techs. When a user enters his PIN, instead of hitting four digits, he always hits five. After entering the PIN, the user hits either a "1" for transaction acceptance or a "9" for duress from a password-selection list.

Russikof points out that the solution's deployment is expected to be seamless, since the software is installed at the host and deployed network-wide.

"To me, it's simpler," he said. "It's just one more button they have to punch. It's a lot easier to remember because you're using it every time - you're always pressing an additional key."