ABN AMRO invests in prevention of explosive attacks and ram raids
- Detecting Financial Crime
ABN AMRO ATMs are regularly attacked with explosives and ram raided. On 13 and 14 April, criminals targeted two ABN AMRO ATMs in Amsterdam and one in Vlissingen.
ABN AMRO takes this form of crime very seriously. The bank is investing in measures to prevent explosive attacks and ram raids by strengthening access doors and taking measures to frustrate attacks that use gas and others methods of attack. ABN AMRO also employs the Live View system at all ATMs. Live View is a video and detection system that allows the police to access the cameras in the event of a raid, increasing the chances of an arrest.
In explosive raids, criminals try to break open ATM safes using gas or other explosives. In a ram raid, they crash a vehicle into an ATM in an attempt to smash it open. These attacks cause a lot of damage to buildings and the ATMs, while the criminals often get away with little or no cash. The raids usually take place at night and target all banks in the Netherlands.
ABN AMRO has about 1,700 ATMs all over the Netherlands. In 2012, the banks collectively suffered 127 explosive raids and 4 ram raids.