Strategies for preventing hook and chain attacks

ATM crimes are on the rise — the FBI reported 254 thefts in 2021, up from 229 in 2020 and 31 in 2019. One of the most popular methods is the hook and chain attack, where someone will attach a chain from the back of a vehicle to the ATM and drag the ATM away, leaving massive property damage in its wake.

"In a hook and chain attack, criminals try to rip the ATM open with a hook and chain attached to a (usually stolen) vehicle like a pickup truck. Most often, this attack hits drive-up ATMs. They hook the chain into openings in the safe door after ripping off the beauty door and pull it off with the vehicle. Once the door is opened, they remove the cassettes and flee from the site of the crime," Simon Powley, head of advisory and consulting at Diebold Nixdorf, said in an email interview.

As to where hook and chain attacks first got started, Houston, Texas appears to be the birth place, according to a David Dixon, VP of financial services at 3SI Security Systems.

"The crime trend began in the Houston area and the gangs performing them were so successful, they now send teams out to neighboring states where they'll perform a series of attacks, then head back to Houston," Dixon said in an email interview. "They are highly trained and use stolen vehicles or rental cars. Most of their crimes take less than 5 minutes — sometimes as little as 2-3 minutes. When a team is caught, the crimes will stop for a period of time — but there's a steady supply of new criminals that will crop back up and the crimes start again."

Dixon identified a few reasons why hook and chain attacks are so effective:

• A lot of ATMs have a weakness in the vault door that makes it easier to hook into and open.
• It is simple, only requiring a truck and a chain.
• It's much easier than stealing an entire machine, as they simply need to take the cash cassettes out.

In light of this crime trend, what are some tools that can stop hook and chain attacks? Some banks are putting stickers on ATMs warning that they have hook and chain blockers. Dixon however doesn't believe these stickers are attractive.

"A warning sticker could potentially scare off an inexperienced criminal — but the experienced gangs proliferating these types of attacks are so fast, they won't be scared off by a sticker. There's also aesthetics to think of and customer impressions," Dixon said. "Will they be scared to use an ATM if they see a sticker — thinking that they might be in danger using the machine? Many houses that have an alarm sign in the window or posted in the front yard get robbed for the same reason. Determined criminals aren't going to change their minds, and they frequently believe the stickers/signs are fake and intended to scare them off."

As to what methods actually work, Powley recommends companies utilize tools such as a strengthened chassis and safe that make it harder for criminals to access the cassettes. In addition, banks can put sensors in the safe that can detect the attack and inform law enforcement.

"When we designed our new DN Series ATMs, we made security considerations a key priority. That resulted in moving the note path to the top of the safe and positioning it in the middle of the ATM, removing direct access to the safe, so there is no place to hook a chain and no space to insert explosives," Powley said.

Dixon said two methods that aren't very effective are bollards, which block the door, and swing gates to reinforce the door area. He said bollards aren't effective as they need precise placement both to allow technicians to work on the ATM and to prevent criminals from accessing the ATM. As for swing gates, he said these only slow down the attack and are very expensive.

Dixon said one of the best methods is putting GPS trackers in the machine and/or the cassettes.

"GPS can detect the attack when the machine shifts as the door is being pulled (any motion will be detected) and some GPS systems will report the crime directly to police and notify the customer. These systems have a high success rate because the tracking travels with the criminals vs staying back at the machine once it's compromised."

Lastly, Powley recommended utilizing a tool that can remove the motive itself for stealing an ATM: ink-staining solutions.

"If an attacker does manage to gain access, ink-staining solutions will render the banknotes useless to the criminals," Powley said.

Do you know of other methods to prevent ATM attacks? If so, click here to share them with us.