ATM-related fraud losses fell by 14 per cent over 2010, according to the European ATM Security Team (EAST), with total losses of €268million reported.

This, EAST said, is the second successive annual drop, following a 36 per cent fall for 2009.

A reduction in losses due to card skimming attacks, which have fallen for the past six half-yearly reporting periods, has largely been cited, from a peak of €315million in December 2007 to December 2010’s level of €123million.

ATM-related fraud attacks dropped by seven per cent, with a total of 12,383 incidents reported – down from 13,269 incidents in 2009.

“The continuing drop in fraud losses is very good news for both cardholders and the industry, and indicates that the significant investment made by the European banking sector into EMV technology, as well as into anti-skimming devices at ATMs, is now really starting to pay off,” commented EAST director and coordinator, Lachlan Gunn.

“That being said, these statistics are for Europe as a whole, and seven out of the twenty-two contributing countries reported an increase in skimming related losses, a significant increase in some cases. EAST is always urging cardholders to be vigilant when using ATMs and cardholder security tips are provided on the EAST website – the top tip is to shield your PIN when making a transaction.”

Eighty-two per cent of ATM-related card skimming losses are now international – i.e.: losses outside national borders by criminals using stolen card details – with most now occurring in countries outside Europe.

The risk, EAST said, of counterfeit EMV cards being used to withdraw cash from ATMs in parts of the world that are not EMV-compliant remains high, and has lead to some European card issuers implementing additional security measures.

Physical attacks on European ATMs have fallen by 16 per cent compared with 2009.

Share Story: