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FICO: ATM compromises rocket to all-time high in 2015

The company says that criminals are attacking terminals over shorter periods of time as a way to avoid detection, and that nonbank ATMs have been hit especially hard.

April 8, 2016

Just-released figures from FICO indicate that the number of U.S. ATMs compromised by criminals rose 546 percent from 2014 to 2015.

In a press release, the analytic software firm said that figures for 2015 were the highest ever recorded by its FICO Card Alert Service, which monitors hundreds of thousands of ATMs in the U.S.

The company also said that ATM compromises were taking place over fewer days. The average duration of an ATM compromise fell from 36 days in 2014 to 14 days in 2015 — a reduction of 61 percent. The average number of cards affected by a compromise was cut in half.

"Criminals are taking a quick-hit approach to ATM theft and card fraud," T.J. Horan, FICO VP of fraud solutions, said in the release. "They are moving faster to make it harder for banks to react and shut down the compromises. They are targeting nonbank ATMs, which are more vulnerable.

Horan said that nonbank ATMs accounted for 60 percent of all compromises, up from 39 percent in 2014. Convenience stores were especially hard-hit, with compromises up ten-fold year over year, the release said.

Also in 2015, ATM compromises were distributed across the country, in contrast with 2014 when compromises were concentrated in large cities on the east and west coasts.

Horan said that ATM operators should increase the frequency of their inspections, looking carefully for any signs of tampering, and that ATM users also should be more vigilant.

FICO first reported on the sharp growth in ATM fraud on its blog last May.