ATMs undoubtedly hold an irresistable attraction for thieves. From a criminal's view, the machines must seem so vulnerable, often placed in remote locations and often outdoors. And there's the lure of all that cash inside. Stories of attempts to steal entire machines are common.

For ATM owners, security is a significant issue. The two firms in this story have been successful in thwarting some ATM crimes.

Batten down the hatches

Automatic Bankcard Services Inc. owns, operates, sells and distributes ATMs. It has also developed a unique device to combat crime at its machines, the ABS Anchor. For about $10 each, it sells the ABS Anchor to other ATM owners.

Special accounts manager Jim Riggs says it was self-interest that led the company to develop the product.

"We needed to protect our own machines from being knocked over and stolen," Riggs says. "And now we have. Any ATM owner can protect their investment the way we have, since we sell the bolts to all ATM owners."

The ABS Anchor is deceptively simple, Riggs says. "To be effective, you just drill the holes, set the bolts, remove the shafts, set the ATM in place, and rebolt it. The security is in the bolt itself."

Riggs says the bolts provided by ATM manufacturers are simply too weak to do anything more than steady a machine. Even stronger off-the-shelf bolts from hardware stores can't match the ABS Anchor, he says, as it was designed with ATM security in mind.

"The No. 1 reason to use this product is because it is engineered specifically for the ATM equipment industry," Riggs says. "Each bolt can withstand 10,000 pounds of tensile strength. With four on an ATM it will hold through an 8.5 major earthquake."

Riggs says police videos have shown that criminals will come in during the day and test an ATM to see if it can be knocked over. Criminals bump against the machine and, if it appears vulnerable, they come back at night. "In less than two minutes they can throw a chain around the ATM, hop into their truck, yank the machine out and be driving down the road," Riggs says. "They can then take it someplace safe to cut and torch the vault open and get to the cash inside."

But in field trials, Riggs says the ABS Anchor held an ATM in place even when using a construction-grade vehicle and a 1-inch chain. "With a smaller chain and a pickup truck, the chain broke," Riggs says. "When we used a larger chain, we tore the bumper off the truck. With the construction gear we tore the machine apart - but the bolts still held."

ABS uses its product in all its own ATMs and Riggs said it has stopped theft of its machines. That security has also led to reduced insurance costs, he says.

Riggs says he gets 10-15 requests each day for the bolts, and the company is expanding beyond America into Australia and Canada. They even are being used at amusement parks and in the vending industry to hold down soft drink machines, Riggs says.

Mark it up

If someone does manage to remove an ATM and attempt to access the contents, ICI Security Systems, a unit of ICI Americas Inc., has a system designed to make the loot worthless to the thief.

Mike Grajewski, a spokesman for ICI, says the Scorpion cassette protection system is effective because criminals don't know where it is. "Basically, protection is placed where the criminal least expects it, concealed in the cassette against the currency," Grajewski says.

For security reasons, Grajewski could not disclose exactly how the system works. Generally speaking, however, he says the system allows for normal operations but activates a dye-staining process in response to unauthorized activity.

"Sensors detect several aspects of the cassette functionality. Normal operations are allowed, (but) unauthorized cassette movement or opening will result in an activation of indelible dye over the notes," Grajewski says. "The dye is specifically engineered to persist once applied making removal extremely difficult. Stained notes are difficult to spend without drawing unwanted attention. By denying the criminal clean cash, interest to target protected ATMs will diminish pushing the problem to softer targets."

Grajewski says ICI has been developing ATM currency staining systems since the mid-1990s. Today, systems are used in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and the United States. Most installations currently are in Europe but he says interest is growing in the States. "Several factors are contributing to the U.S. interest," he says. "Such as ISO deployment in more and more convenient locations and actual ATM burglaries."

One recent successful use of Scorpion was in the United Kingdom, Grajewski says. A convenience store ATM, located close to a police precinct, was burglarized last month. The criminals defeated the alarm, cameras and opened the door without detection. The cassettes were removed from the machine causing system activation. The red dye has a strong scent that contributed to apprehension. Police eventually arrived on the scene, a K-9 unit was brought in and it went right to work. The dog tracked the scent across the street and to an apartment complex. Police entered the room finding three suspects with dye stained currency and clothing in the washing machine, he says.

In another instance last year, Grajewski says burglars targeted a lobby-model ATM located in a French supermarket in the early morning hours. "The unit was knocked over, being dragged from the premises, when a trail of red dye was spotted trailing behind the unit," Grajewski says. "The criminals rightly assumed the contents were severely damaged and abandoned the attack."

Grajewski says the system has tremendous flexibility to cover a range of customer concerns, including ATM removal only, cassette removal only, and ATM removal, cassette removal, pavement transport to and from the ATM during replenishment.

ICI operates with a direct sales team primarily calling on financial institutions to market the system, Grajewski says. "The interest for an ATM staining system is coming from financial institutions experiencing sustained attacks from YACS and ISOs," he says. "Several major banks throughout the country are in pilot programs becoming familiar with the technology. ATM staining is a new concept in the U.S, so market interest is being established. The benefits of currency staining will become apparent to more ATM operators as we proceed with our North American introduction."

Until crime can be eliminated entirely, security devices must be employed to reduce theft. Both ABS and ICI officials say they will continue to look at new and improved security devices to protect the assets of ATM owners and operators.