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GASA continues to improve ATM crime database

February 22, 2005

BROOKINGS, S.D. and CAPE TOWN, South Africa - The Global ATM Security Alliance, a group formed by the ATM Industry Association to protect the industry from the growing problem of cross-border ATM crime and card fraud, has launched its newly structured and simplified global crime data management system, Cognito.

The system, which contains more than 2,000 ATM crime incidents from 2004 divided into GASA's nine global ATM crime categories, is a-first for the ATM industry, which has never recorded and researched ATM crime in a standardized, systematic way. (A single exception is the United Kingdom, which has maintained a national database of ATM crime data for three years.)

A Celent Communications report, "ATM Security & Fraud," published in July 2004, highlighted the problems the industry faces in measuring ATM fraud: "The industry has grave difficulty in measuring ATM fraud given the lack of a national [and international] classification, the secrecy surrounding such frauds, and the unfortunate fact that one cannot know the true cost of fraud until one is hit with it," the report reads.

Cognito aims to solve the problem outlined by Celent by providing anonymous, standardized ATM crime data with no fields in the system for any name of a deployer, bank or manufacturer.

"This anonymity and confidentiality of data on Cognito allows for ATM crime to become a non-competitive issue," said Mike Lee, ATMIA's chief executive and founder of GASA. "The whole industry needs to unite in joint crime-fighting exercises and systems."

In its report, Celent estimated that ATM fraud costs the United States industry alone $50 million to $60 million each year.

"Without accurate and comprehensive ATM crime data, it is impossible to conduct proper cost-to-benefit ratio assessments when looking at security solutions for the different types of ATM crime," Lee said. "Cognito is a tool to empower the industry with the crime intelligence needed to underpin dynamic, up-to-date security strategies."

The database has been structured around GASA's International ATM Crime Directory with its nine categories of ATM crime. Its key fields include ATM crime category, criminal modus operandi, type of ATM location where crime occurred, losses, and type of ATM.

Cognito is managed by the South African Fraud Prevention Services on behalf of GASA and ATMIA.

Inquiries should be sent to Mike Lee at mike@atmia.com

SecurityATM Industry Association (ATMIA)

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ATM Industry Association (ATMIA)

The ATM Industry Association, founded in 1997, is a global non-profit trade association with over 10,500 members in 65 countries. The membership base covers the full range of this worldwide industry comprising over 2.2 million installed ATMs.

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