Despite continuous efforts to invigorate the industry with the latest and innovative technologies, the banking and financial sectors have been in a state of flux these days. Among several concerns, the security threats to Banks and ATMs are one of the majors as the businesses are predicted to augment in size in the cash management market.
Banks have taken several steps in urban and rural branches to increase the security measurements and decrease the overall costs of the functions. Outsourcing the bank and ATM cash management services is a significant step to be welcome by all banks worldwide.
Apart from outsourcing the bank security services, banks should take some preventive technology-based steps to secure seamless customer service activities.
Before moving on to effective banking and ATM security solutions, let’s figure out the impending threats faced by these businesses.
Impending Threats for Banks and Their ATM Services
Physical Threats
Although it sounds shocking, the old-fashioned threats of robbery and burglary are continuing even in this digital era. Robberies at the bank’s teller windows are quite common despite the implementation of new techniques. The increased threat of ATM crime and attacks on ATM users is another challenge for the banking institutions that should be mitigated.
Phishing, Fraud, and Skimming through ATM
Several incidents have been reported so far where the customers discovered some skimming devices attached to ATMs. Sometimes, these devices were fixed to ATM’s fascia. In addition, some fraudulent rackets are running a scam through phishing and gathering sensitive information from the customers.
Best Feasible Solutions for Banking and ATM Threats
Tightening ATM Security
Some necessary steps can increase the existing banking and ATM security parts and reduce the chances of the above-mentioned crimes:
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- Outsource the security part to some reliable bank and ATM cash management services while the banks can focus on their banking operations.
- Along with ATM caretaking and maintenance, mandate some scheduled and random checks to all ATMs in both urban and rural areas.
- Integrate some updated detection systems that can sense and send the alert. Nowadays, you can add an automatic fraud detection system that can take the ATM offline and inactive if anything is attached with the card reader slot or fascia.
- Along with these technologies, the banks and ATM cash management services also include some software or behavioural analytics that recognize irregular or out-of-character activities by ATM users.
- Adding a jamming mechanism to the ATM counters is also a preventive measurement. First, the jamming mechanism detects any skimming activity through an electromagnetic field. Then, the skimmer placed on the ATM gets automatically deactivated.
Increasing Awareness among Employees and Customers
A little bit of awareness can prevent hundreds of bank robberies and ATM frauds.
- While banks and financial institutions follow some guidelines and training programs for their employees, there are some gaps. Hence, they should think of providing some aggressive training and conducting rigorous drills among their employees. Sometimes, training conducted by professional security professionals would be more effective in raising awareness among these employees.
- Educating the ATM users about the common ATM threats and how to deal with them is another essential step. They can think of using pamphlets, sharing educational videos and promoting awareness through social media platforms as preventive steps.
Conclusion
In the past, most banks and ATMs were insecure, and the management system was fragile and fragmented as businesses had to rely on their in-house support systems. However, with time, the entire structure and security protocols have been improving. Therefore, hiring a professional bank and ATM security service is the best way to deal with these emerging threats in financial sectors.
