Survey: Consumers Unaware Of Common ATM Security Threats
Wincor Nixdorf recently announced that, according to its recent survey, consumers are largely unaware of major security threats at their ATMs -- but would switch banks if another institution demonstrated that it provided more secure ATMs.
The study polled the knowledge, preferences and trends around ATM security of consumers based in the United States. The survey revealed that, despite an overwhelming concern about ATM fraud, the majority of consumers are unaware of popular fraud tactics, such as ATM card skimming. Skimming causes $350,000 in monetary losses each day and is occurring five times more frequently this year than ever before, according to the Secret Service.
Additionally, the majority of consumers agreed that if another bank offered significantly more advanced ATM security, they would switch banks.
"The ATM has become the primary customer touch point for many financial institutions, so it is critical that retail banks offer the most sophisticated security software to protect their customers,” said David Hadesty, vice president of product management for Wincor Nixdorf’s U.S. Banking Division. “Now, more than ever -- if you are a retail bank that does not make investments in advanced ATM security, you are at risk of losing both money and customers.”
Wincor Nixdorf’s expanded security solution portfolio offers protection from high-tech thieves to counteract the growing number of manipulation attempts at self-service systems. The new Anti-Skimming II Module and the use of optical monitoring technology mean that future attacks on ATMs can be prevented. These new components are part of the extensive ProTect portfolio, which offers retail banks solutions for the comprehensive protection of their processes and external delivery channels.
The Anti-Skimming II Module thwarts attempts to steal card data at ATMs when skimming devices are attached to the card entry slot and the customer’s PIN is stolen. The module recognizes a wide variety of skimmers when they are mounted on the ATM and disrupts them in their attempts to read card data. If a suspicious device is detected, the system initiates a silent alarm. Follow-up actions, such as video monitoring and recording, can also be triggered.