News

EMV adoption in Europe knocks ATM fraud losses down 55%

October 31, 2007

EDINBURGH, Scotland - Figures for ATM crime across Europe for the first half of 2007 show that EMV-chip cards are driving down ATM fraud. Compared with the last six months of 2006, the value of domestic ATM fraud losses for card issuers is down by 55 percent, according to the European ATM Security Team's ATM Crime Statistics report, a report produced for ATM fraud and security professionals.

EAST says the overall trend follows the rollout of EMV chip cards and ATMs with EMV chip readers in Europe. ATM security officials say statistics show that criminals are now actively seeking out ATMs that do not comply with EMV standards.

The EAST statistics show a 5 percent drop in the number of ATM fraud incidents across Europe when compared to the equivalent period last year. The latest 6-month figures indicate 2,537 ATM fraud incidents accounted for losses of â‚¬121 million, â‚¬364 per ATM.Out of an estimated European total of nearly 359,000 ATMs, 68 percent use EMV, up from 63 percent from 2006.

ATM fraud is dominated by card skimming, with 2,317 cases reported - 167 incidents of card trapping and 53 other attacks, such as transaction reversal fraud. Losses related to card skimming decreased by 25 percent in value when compared with the equivalent period last year. That drop relates to the installation of anti-skimming devices on ATMs, EAST says. Because all EMV cards used in Europe still have a magnetic stripe, ATMs must still be equipped with anti-skimming devices.

Where anti-skimming devices have been deployed, EAST members report both a displacement of fraud activity to unprotected machines and an increase in attempts to overcome them. Cases of card trapping have stabilized, while other types of fraud, primarily cash trapping, have decreased. But direct physical attacks against ATMs have increased by 60 percent, 1,810 such attacks reported during the first six months 2007. Attacks range from ram raids to vandalism, with robberies during cash replenishment showing the largest increase. There's also been an increase in the use of explosives and gas.

In total, â‚¬15 million were lost through attacks on ATMs. The estimated average cash loss through robbery is â‚¬8,000 Euros per attack and â‚¬12,000 per ram raid/ATM burglary.

More than 40 percent of direct attacks fail to gain cash, but significant damage to property and/or the ATM can exceed â‚¬100,000 per attack.

EAST's 2007 report covers January to June. The report is issued twice a year and includes statistics provided from 19 European states. The following countries, with an estimated total installed base of 332,277 ATMs, supplied full or partial information for the report: Austria; Belgium; Cyprus; Denmark; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Ireland; Italy; Luxembourg; Malta; the Netherlands; Poland, Portugal; Slovakia; Spain; Switzerland; the United Kingdom.

EAST expects in the future to include information from all 27 European Union states as well as from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.