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Why ATM Bombs May Be Coming Soon To the United States
HughPickens.com writes Nick Summers has an interesting article at Bloomberg about the epidemic of 90 ATM bombings that has hit Britain since 2013. ATM machines are vulnerable because the strongbox inside an ATM has two essential holes: a small slot in front that spits out bills to customers and a big door in back through which employees load reams of cash in large cassettes. "Criminals have learned to see this simple enclosure as a physics problem," writes Summers. "Gas is pumped in, and when it's detonated, the weakest part—the large hinged door—is forced open. After an ATM blast, thieves force their way into the bank itself, where the now gaping rear of the cash machine is either exposed in the lobby or inside a trivially secured room. Set off with skill, the shock wave leaves the money neatly stacked, sometimes with a whiff of the distinctive acetylene odor of garlic." The rise in gas attacks has created a market opportunity for the companies that construct ATM components. Several manufacturers now make various anti-gas-attack modules: Some absorb shock waves, some detect gas and render it harmless, and some emit sound, fog, or dye to discourage thieves in the act.
As far as anyone knows, there has never been a gas attack on an American ATM. The leading theory points to the country's primitive ATM cards. Along with Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, and not many other countries, the U.S. doesn't require its plastic to contain an encryption chip, so stealing cards remains an effective, nonviolent way to get at the cash in an ATM. Encryption chip requirements are coming to the U.S. later this year, though. And given the gas raid's many advantages, it may be only a matter of time until the back of an American ATM comes rocketing off.
As far as anyone knows, there has never been a gas attack on an American ATM. The leading theory points to the country's primitive ATM cards. Along with Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, and not many other countries, the U.S. doesn't require its plastic to contain an encryption chip, so stealing cards remains an effective, nonviolent way to get at the cash in an ATM. Encryption chip requirements are coming to the U.S. later this year, though. And given the gas raid's many advantages, it may be only a matter of time until the back of an American ATM comes rocketing off.
*Automatic* ATM Machines.
The mythbusters need to test this now!
Jamie Wants a Big Boom.
(Heard off-camera after some tests had been performed to see how noteworthy an ATM segment would be)
Where's the kaboom? There was supposed to be an earth-shattering kaboom!
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The most effective measure taken to discourage the practice was to pack bags of dyes inside the ATM cassetes, so that the money is stained and rendered unusable. If you try to deposit stained money, it'll be confiscated on the spot.
Hmm... they can take the stained money, but neither deposit or spend it.....
Here in DC we have at least 535 folks that are willing to take tainted cash. Any denomination, any amount.
I am reminded of an article I read a few years ago about some anniversary of the invention of the ATM. The American credited with inventing it, explaining how he did it, said he'd seen one in London, and so came home and invented it.
Cuz it is not sexy when a stripper gets and eye taken out by a handful of dollar coins tossed at her.
"Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."-THG
Yeah, I guess in the USA, holding someone at gun- or knife-point and demanding their wallet counts as non-violent.
In Detroit, they call it "Thursday"
SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
These anti-features also make it trivial for the government to monitor your transactions and in the USA where we have a president who is hell bent on confiscating our guns so he can subjugate us this is a no go. I'd sooner just hand my money to a regular theif than make it easy for the government to track my gun purchases, or any purchases for that matter. Mind you, bitcoin is going to make this all moot soon anyway.
I've been 'asked to leave' a club after dropping two dollars worth of ice cold quarters down a dancers g string.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'