Crime Round-Up

Although a snap shot of cash related crimes taken from media reports, they are a reminder of the risks of cash related crime used to justify less cash.

In January, Cash & Payment News™ reported that for the first time ever no bank branch in Denmark had experienced an attack, since they no longer handle cash. It is interesting to see here that dye staining works and the active response of the police.

Gang targets German ATMs

Die Welt, a German broadsheet newspaper, has investigated Germany’s ATM robbery problem. In 2022 there were about 500 attacks carried out by professional gangs, usually using explosives. Germany has 55,000 ATMs.

The Federal Criminal Agency registered 414 attempted robberies of ATMs in 2020 with a similar number in 2021.

In May 2022 Europol, the Dutch police and the German Police Directorate worked together to arrest three suspected members of a criminal gang. This followed the arrest of three other gang members at the end of March. In October Die Welt said the perpetrators belong to a network of 700 largely Moroccan-Dutch criminals.

An association, the Alliance Automated Teller Machines, has been established to fight ATM crimes.

Arrests made at the Dutch border

A Dutch gang attacked an ATM in a shopping centre in in Mülheim an der Ruhr, around 50 kilometres from the Venlo border crossing early February. They succeeded in stealing cash, although the dye staining unit successfully activated staining the notes. The attack happened at 4am but the police found a burnt out car about 15 minutes after the attack, but no criminals. In the afternoon Dutch police stopped a car at the border and arrested four men aged 21 to 23 years old.

Stained banknotes and stains on the hands of those arrested suggested they had been involved. One man had serious injuries requiring hospital treatment.

US: pipe bomb and then gas used to attack ATMs

A San Diego judge in the US sentenced a man to 11.5 years in a federal prison for the bombing of two ATMs in 2017. The man, and his accomplice, stole $3,420. The men used a pipe bomb in the first attack but failed to gain entry to the money. In the second attack they drilled a hole in the machine, pumped gas into the machine and lit a fuse. This time they were able to get the cash box.

Malaysia: gas attack on ATMs

Three mechanics have been charged with an attack on two co-located ATMs resulting in the theft of RM300,000. They have admitted to other attacks during 2020 and 2022. It appears the gang only attacked machine belonging to one bank because the machines had not been updated.

The criminals used oxy-acetylene gas to blow open the machines, although they only managed to break in to one of ATMs. They had sprayed the CCTV cameras with ink and managed to carry out the attack in five minutes.

The ATMs were defended by dye mechanisms and the suspects were found using bleach to clean the dye off the notes.

Sri Lanka: entire ATM taken

Sri Lankan police arrested seven men for allegedly stealing an ATM. A gang had raided a bank and removed the entire ATM in their van. When the police arrested the men they also found the ATM.

Singapore: ATM used in money laundering

In Singapore an 18 year old girl has been found guilty of acting as a ‘runner’ for a group of criminals attacking ATMs, one of a group of eight ‘runners’. Their job was to open bank accounts and then withdraw money from ATMs as part of a money laundering operation connected to phishing scams. The proceeds, about $600,000, were funnelled through the bank accounts. The gang had stolen about $12.8 million.