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Texas becomes hot spot for ATM ram raids

Ram raids may have originated in Europe, but it didn't take long for the crime to spread to the Unites States. The crime-wave migration continues as ram raiders target Texas.

September 27, 2006

An estimated 200 ATMs are stolen every year in the United States. For criminals, the draw is not the ATM itself, but the thousands of dollars inside the machine.

Ram raids, also known as smash-and-grabs, are nothing new in the United States. Although the trend originated in Europe, it didn't take long for the idea to spread to Africa, Australia, and North America.

At times the trend seems to encompass an entire continent, but in the United States, attacks only flare in spurts. Earlier this year, ATMs throughout the Northeast were being targeted - now the Dallas/Fort Worth region of Texas seems to be the hotspot.

Jerry Gregory, chief development officer of Richardson, Texas-based Cash Carriers USA, said he receives calls weekly from ATM operators around the state whose machines have been stolen or damaged. One of his customers, who has a fleet of ATMs in convenience store locations, had six or seven break-ins at different locations all in the same night, Gregory said.

"As you know, one break in is too many, but it is starting to get ridiculous," Gregory said. "This customer has encountered more break-ins in two weeks than he probably did for the entire year before. Word is getting out how easy it is and I sincerely expect things to get worse."

A ram raid is the act of smashing a store window, usually with a car or truck, to gain access to the store and its contents, including ATMs. In some cases, thieves get a little more creative, smashing through store fronts with stolen construction equipment, like front-end loaders.

"As long as crooks know that they can break into a cheap (ATM) cabinet and get big returns, they will do so," Gregory said. "This was not a 24-hour location; the non-24-hour stores are, of course, the most vulnerable to attack."

The best defense is a good offense

Richardson, Texas, Police Sgt. Kevin Perlich said ram raids have increased over the last several years throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth area, 15 to 30 miles south of Richardson.

Unlike some traditional burglaries, ram-raiders are more difficult to catch because they usually wear masks and gloves, and they typically use stolen vehicles to carry out their crimes.

Perlich said ram raids are often cyclical and carried out by a specific group of individuals who target several machines.

"A handful of people out there are responsible for the vast majority in certain areas," he said.

Tips from Sgt. Perlich, Richardson, Texas PD

	Use concrete bollards or decorative planters in front of windows and doors.
	Keep parking lots and store fronts well lit, and remove posters and pictures from glass windows to ensure visibility.
	Fill machines with less cash to minimize losses and deter repeat attacks.
	Keep ATMs away from windows and glass doors.
	Have a backup ATM alarm that is not tied to the retail locations' phone line.

George Palmer of American Special Risk LLC said there is no doubt that ATM losses have increased overall in the past year because of a rise in ram raids.

American Special Risk president Mark Coons told ATM Marketplace his company pays about $4.5 million annually for claims related to smash-and-grab attacks. (Read also, Cost, tech prevent widespread ATM use of GPS

"The most popular type of ATM theft in the U.K. has been the use of ram raids for sometime now, and this type of attack has successfully migrated to the States," Palmer said. "Yes, ram raids are an increasingly large problem for the ATM industry, but there are ways that we can fight back against this type of crime."

Gregory is recommending his clients bolt their machines to the floor and/or install Level 1 safes, which are constructed of steel with a tensile strength of at least 50,000 pounds per square inch.

Bollards or decorative cement blocks, well-lit parking lots, and placing ATMs away from doors and windows also are effective measures, Perlich said.

Perlich recommends loading less cash into the ATM, even if that means making more trips to refill the machine.

ATMs that offer high-dollar returns are likely to be hit by raiders more than once, Perlich said.

And all ATMs should have an alarm system that is separate from the store's alarm or not tied into the locations telephone line.

In order to reduce the number of ram raids that occur each year, the ATM Industry Association has published a manual outlining ways company's can use best-practice tactics for preventing ram raids on their machines.