Not too long ago, a group of criminals was arrested for their involvement in blowing up bank ATMs. By using explosive gas, the group managed to break into 27 different bank ATMs across London and other English places, where they stole a lot of money in the process. All three men have been sentenced to over 30 years in prison for their crimes, which is not surprising.
Blowing Up Bank ATMs Is Not A Good Idea
In this day and age of growing software-based threats, blowing up a bank ATM seems rather eccentric. Three men operating in London, Surrey, and the Thames Valley, felt using explosive gas to break open ATMs would be a good idea. Albeit they have been quite successful in their approach, it didn’t take long for them to get caught either.
The crime group stuck to their method of attack from July 2014 until April 2015, attacking over two dozen bank ATMs in the process. To this very date, it remains unknown how much money was effectively lost due to these bold attacks, although it is expected the number surpasses 250,000 GBP. Depending on when the bank teller machines were attacked, they could have been loaded with bank notes.
Gaining entry to a bank ATM is not an easy task by any means. Or to be more precise, accessing the internals – including the cash drawer – is quite challenging unless one has the right equipment. Using explosive is a viable solution, which is pumped into the cash machine and ignited from a small distance away. Thankfully, no one got injured in the process, as significant damage can be done by using such explosive means.
In one case, the police even found the front fascia of an ATM 30 to 40 meters from the scene. This indicates the blast was so powerful it could have easily knocked debris into bystanders or an unfortunate passerby. Luckily, that never occurred during any of the 27 attacks made against teller machines. Unfortunately for the criminals, this matter did not result in a less harsh jail sentence, though, as the judge did not show them any leniency whatsoever.
Although explosive attacks against bank ATMs are not that uncommon, most crime gangs prefer a more sophisticated attack method. Using malware, infiltrating bank systems, or even installing skimmers in bank ATMs, are all very real threats which continue to gain popularity. More importantly, they do not cause any physical risk for bystanders, which is somewhat of a relief.
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