Security
Top 7 ATM news headlines of 2024: Lawsuits, crime, glue
Read the top 7 news headlines of 2024.
January 7, 2025 by Bradley Cooper — Editor, ATM Marketplace & Food Truck Operator
Last time, we took a look back at the top articles and blogs for ATM Marketplace in 2024. Now we are looking back on the top seven news headlines that got the most clicks in 2024.
In 2024, the biggest news surrounded crime and major lawsuits, such as Visa and Mastercard making a large payout to plaintiffs in an ATM fee lawsuit and the FBI joining in an investigation into a ATM skimming crime spree.
In one particularly interesting incident, police in Maryland found a piece of metal glued to an ATM for no discernible reason.
Read the top seven news briefs on ATM Marketplace below.
7. ATM pulled from wall at PNC Bank in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Police in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania found an ATM pulled from a wall at a PNC Bank branch in Lititz. Surveillance footage showed a pickup truck with a chain attached to the ATM.
6. Suspect wanted in Peru, Illinois ATM theft
Police in Peru, Illinois are on the lookout for two suspects who stole from an ATM from an Illinois Valley Credit Union location. The suspects used a truck and a chain to break open the machine and steal $8,000.
5. Police discover metal glued to ATMs in Maryland
Police in Greenbelt, Maryland discovered two ATMs that had a piece of metal glued over the cash withdrawal slit. This was discovered at a Bank of America branch and Capital One ATM.
The object was a piece of metal trim or metal rule, and a single $20 bill was jammed inside one of the ATMs. Police are uncertain what was the motive behind this tampering.
4. Thieves slam car into Bowie, Maryland business, steal ATM
Police in Bowie, Maryland are looking for suspects who rammed into a Shell gas station with a vehicle and stole the ATM from inside. The robbery was reported at 3:45 a.m., and no one was inside the building at the time of the event.
3. Visa, Mastercard will pay $197 million in ATM fee lawsuit
Visa and Mastercard both agreed to pay $197 million in a class action lawsuit regarding ATM fees. This lawsuit covers customers who withdrew cash from bank ATMs and claimed that the fees were kept artificially high.
There are two other class action lawsuits pending as well, with one from consumers of non-bank ATMs and another from independent ATM operators. Visa will pay $104.6 million and Mastercard will pay $92.8 million. Both companies deny any wrongdoing.
2.ATM network investors sue investment company
Investors in an ATM network owned by Heller Capital Group, the parent company of Prestige and Paramount, are suing the company to gain control of the network. The lawsuit alleges that Heller failed to pay more than $65 million in fees since April 2024, according to a report by Lancaster Online.
An investor testified in court in Lancaster County, Philadelphia that the suit sought control of the network to prevent, "immediate and irreparable harm of the ruination of the entire value of their present ATM businesses and, at a bare minimum, the loss of business opportunities."
Jerry Hostetter, an investor and president of Prestige Investment Group, said he chose to terminate the management agreement with Paramount after discussions with Daryl Heller, head of Heller Capital. He admitted he did not have the authority the file the suit, but he felt he had to act to protect the 2,700 investors and 25 funds.
In late November 2024, Heller was charged a $138 million judgement after he missed a payment deadline to the investors.
1. FBI, Secret Service investigating ATM skimmers in Ohio
The FBI and the Secret Service are investigating a series of skimmers found at ATMs in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Thieves are using pinhole cameras to record people as they enter their PINs at ATMs, according to a report by Fox 19.
"We've all been sharing information and communicating that we believe there have been multiple suspects come through the Cincinnati area and placed these skimmer devices on other ATMs across the area," Michael Ross, Clermont County detective, told the news outlet. "Some of the skimmer devices just read your card, this was more advanced because it also had a second part to it where it audio and video recorded you entering your PIN."
In particular, these devices can hear the tones each key makes while users enter it.
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