News

ATM-skimming losses drop, but some European countries report higher incidents

April 11, 2011

The European ATM Security Team (EAST) today reported a 14 percent drop in ATM-related fraud losses in 2010 because of fewer card-skimming attacks, but it wasn't all good news.

Last year, total losses reached 268 million euros (U.S. $388 million), down 44 million euros, compared with reported losses of 312 million euros in 2009, said Lachlan Gunn, coordinator of EAST, which is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

For the 12 months ending Dec. 31, 2010, there were 12,383 ATM-related fraud attacks, down 7 percent compared with 13,269 ATM-related fraud attacks in 2009. This is the second consecutive yearly drop in fraud losses, Gunn said. In 2009, fraud losses dropped 36 percent compared with 2008. Two years ago, financial losses reached 485 million euros, although there were fewer reported attacks compared with 2009.

"The continuing drop in fraud losses is very good news for both cardholders and the industry, and indicates that the significant investment made by the European banking sector into EMV technology, as well as into anti-skimming devices at ATMs, is now really starting to pay off," Gunn said.

Gunn added, however, the drop was for Europe as a whole, but seven out of 22 contributing countries reported increases in skimming losses and some cases, the losses were significant. "EAST is always urging cardholders to be vigilant when using ATMs and cardholder security tips are provided on the EAST website. The top tip is to shield your PIN when making a transaction," he said.

In addition, EAST reported that physical attacks on ATMs declined for the year ending Dec. 31, 2010, but financial losses were higher compared with 2009. Last year, there were 2,062 reported incidents, down 16 percent compared with 2,468 incidents in 2009. Financial losses in 2010 reached 33 million euros compared with losses of 28 million euros in 2009.

The European ATM Security Team received data from 22 European states, representing an estimated installed base of 369,791 ATMs. The countries are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.