The number of ATMs in the US compromised by criminals surged six-fold (546%) in 2015 from 2014 to 2015, according to a report by analytic software firm FICO.
FICO, which monitors American ATMs through its Card Alert service, said such breaches were highest at non-bank ATMs including those in convenience stores, where 10 times as many machines were compromised as in 2014.
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However, the average duration of an ATM compromise dropped to 14 days in 2015 from 36 days in the prior year.
In addition, the average number of cards compromised was cut in half.
The study further unveiled that in 2015, criminal activities at ATMs were spread out across the country, contrary to 2014 when they were concentrated in large cities on the East Coast and West Coast.
FICO vice president of fraud solutions TJ Horan said: "Criminals are taking a quick-hit approach to ATM theft and card fraud. They are moving faster to make it harder for banks to react and shut down the compromises. They are targeting non-bank ATMs, which are more vulnerable — in 2015, non-bank ATMs accounted for 60 percent of all compromises, up from 39 percent in 2014."
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By GlobalData
