Thieves finding new ways to break into ATM machines

sequoias

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Dang, Phoenix is the capital for thieves!


PHOENIX - Leave the gun. Bank robbers have found an easier way to make off with other people's money: Around the country, thieves have hot-wired forklifts at construction sites, chugged up to banks and scooped up their ATMs, with all the cash inside.

ATM manufacturers have been working on ways to stop the heists, and sometimes the money involved is so small it hardly seems worth the risk. But that hasn't discouraged thieves this summer in such states as Arizona, California and Georgia.

They have pulled off or attempted such thefts at least 21 times this year in the Phoenix area alone.

"It's called the smash-and-dash," said Rob Evans, director of industry marketing for Dayton, Ohio-based NCR Corp., the world's largest maker of automated teller machines. Evans is the company expert on ATM thefts.

Since the 1990s, thieves have used forklifts to steal ATMs in Indonesia, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland and Estonia, as well as the U.S. Four years ago, criminals plowed through the front doors of a movie theater in Lethbridge, Canada, with a forklift, drove into the lobby, hoisted the bulky machine and carried it to a waiting pickup truck.

The payoff for those who succeed in breaking into the machines varies widely, from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.

"The vast majority of those attacks are unsuccessful," Evans said. "A lot of times you just get a lot of damage."

Some attempts end in almost comic failure. Often, ATM thieves are spotted by security guards and surveillance cameras as soon as they come rumbling up, and they are eventually caught. (Some at least are smart enough to wear ski masks.) Others flee after failing to pry the ATM loose. Some get away with the machines, only to find the concrete-and-steel vault tough to crack.

In the Phoenix area - a booming region with plenty of construction projects and lots of drive-through banks with open-air ATMs bolted to the ground, instead of embedded in a brick wall - police will not say how much has been stolen.

One of the most recent cases took place Monday at a bank in Mesa. Sheriff's deputies found the ATM later that night burned in the desert. The cash was gone.

Law enforcement agencies in the metropolitan area have formed a task force with banking industry officials to investigate the thefts. So far, authorities have made at least two arrests in one case and are looking into whether the crimes are connected.

"It could be some organized syndicate that's just decided to hit," said Sgt. Mike Angstead, who supervises the property crimes unit with Gilbert police.

Banks won't talk about how much money their machines typically contain.

"Those with the highest concentrations of cash are in casinos and other venues with high security," Evans said. "The little tabletop machine in your quickie mart, that literally has a couple hundred bucks in it."

The smaller machines with the least security tend to be the ones that get stolen, Evans said. "It's hardly worth the trouble."

To protect their money, many banks use ATMs equipped with global-positioning technology that tells authorities where the machines are. Some have an alarm that goes off is someone tampers with the machine. Even if the thieves get away with the machines, they have to pound away pretty hard to get the safe open.

Over the summer in Sacramento, Calif., thieves took off with an ATM in a rented truck. Within hours, a GPS device inside the machine gave away its location. When police arrived, the smashed ATM was sitting on a back porch, covered in a blue tarp.

"They were just using a sledgehammer trying to open up the machine," Placer County, Calif., sheriff's Sgt. Brian Whigam said. "Once they got to the core, they discovered the GPS tracking device, and they knew the jig was up."

Four people were arrested.
 
This is pretty much why you really don't see a lot of ATMs outside except for the drive-thru ATMs. In fact, some banks lock their doors at nights and people have to insert their bank cards into a slot to get inside the building to do their banking.

It's never a good idea to have an ATM outside of a building because it's often targeted at for thievery.
 
This is pretty much why you really don't see a lot of ATMs outside except for the drive-thru ATMs. In fact, some banks lock their doors at nights and people have to insert their bank cards into a slot to get inside the building to do their banking.

It's never a good idea to have an ATM outside of a building because it's often targeted at for thievery.

I see plenty of banks with ATM machines outside of the buildings. :) The article says that the ATM manufactuurs are finding ways to make it more secure from the damage.
 
This is pretty much why you really don't see a lot of ATMs outside except for the drive-thru ATMs. In fact, some banks lock their doors at nights and people have to insert their bank cards into a slot to get inside the building to do their banking.

It's never a good idea to have an ATM outside of a building because it's often targeted at for thievery.


I notice ATM start move inside building. Expect only bank building still remind outside by side of bank. Not like in ten years ago ATM put outside without secuirty camera or door.
 
I see plenty of banks with ATM machines outside of the buildings. :) The article says that the ATM manufactuurs are finding ways to make it more secure from the damage.
true, some thieves drive right through the doors and rip them out of the walls. some of our local gas stations were robbed by stolen Bobcats (small bulldozers). The ATM were in the far back of the store. Bobcat went right thought the store and took the ATM out of the wall...
 
In Annapolis mall some guys broke into mall at night and tied up security guards. They then stole the white security pickup and loaded an atm machine in it and drove off. the atm was inside the mall and not near any doors. i think they drove security truck inside of mall to get it.
 
Here's a story that my friend told me.

A guy mocked up as a ATM service guy. He brought in a dolly into 7-11 to pick up the ATM machine, they're portable kind. He loaded it and put it in a pick up truck and drove away. It was never recovered and never caught him! It happened few years ago. The clerk at 7-11 didn't know he was a thief since he looked like a service guy.
 
:rofl:


yeah that has been going on for about 10 years now. Saw it on TV many times


I still find it funny :o
 
wow.. they should have got the order or memo that someone with a name will come in.. instead of showing up to say im here to get it blah blah.. dont believe anyting they said.. anything they will do they are desperate nowadays.. jeez..

here in ark.. alots of atms are outside .. but near security camera .. dont know if it works or not.. havent heard of anything if someone did try to steal it or not around here.. but in Little Rock.. yeah i have heard of that as it was reported few times.. stupid..
 
Here's a story that my friend told me.

A guy mocked up as a ATM service guy. He brought in a dolly into 7-11 to pick up the ATM machine, they're portable kind. He loaded it and put it in a pick up truck and drove away. It was never recovered and never caught him! It happened few years ago. The clerk at 7-11 didn't know he was a thief since he looked like a service guy.


Yeah, I remember that story from watch TV. I forget what is name of program or channel. Exact same story you post. Guy acting like ATM service and pick ATM up. Guy never return to the store since.
 
I remember about watch movie that called Barbershop and happened in Chicago area, that where black guy stole ATM then send on around street until meet his grandma or so then let him to bring ATM in garage and trying rip it off but too hard to open it.
 
usually all ATM at quickshop aren't well secure and easy to break while make ugly scene.
 
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