Kokopelli says, "Never Rob a Bank"
Slice Through A Bank ATM Like Butter
To rob a bank, you can use several
methods, including armed robbery, ATM (Automated
Teller Machine) card fraud or safe cracking.
The most easily defended against is safe cracking,
since years ago banks learned how to make their
safes virtually impenetrable. Although there have
been isolated instances of entire bank cash machines
being wrenched off their moorings and fork-lifted
into waiting trucks, adequate crash bars and other
impediments make that a rare occurrence.
Other than the relatively insecure
bank teller lines, with the limited cash that they
carry, the easiest way to rob a bank of some
“serious cash” is to break into the back of an ATM
machine. Unlike vaults, which have many inches of
steel and concrete armor, most ATMs rely on
relatively thin steel plate to secure many thousands
of dollars that are preloaded into handy cassettes.
Enter the dragon. In this case, the
dragon is the compact, portable and self-contained
MAG9000 oxygen-fueled cutting torch manufactured by
Magnum Manufacturing. According to their
website, Magnum Manufacturing’s “central
headquarters are located in Southern California”.
Magnum touts their system with only
three words: “Speed, Power and Versatility.
Consider piercing 4" of steel in 4 seconds.
Consider removing one linear foot of weldment in 8
seconds. Consider the ability to burn through any
material, even cast iron, stainless steel, copper,
manganese and more. Incredible performance and yet;
safe and reliable in the most challenging field
conditions. Our new battery ignition system
eliminates cables for ultimate portability and
convenience.”
A
recent article in Wired Magazine touted the
MAG9000 as the appropriate tool for “Melting
through doors, walls or concrete bunkers”. Wired
went on to say, “Pull the trigger and pure oxygen
flows from the tank into a barrel at the cutter's
business end. Add a spark and soft steel rods
inside the barrel burn in the presence of the 02.
Once lit, the torch can slice through metal plate in
a few seconds,
In
“the old days”, banks were located in freestanding
buildings that often resembled fortresses. Brick
and mortar gave customers a feeling of security and
permanence. In recent years, many banks have opted
for less expensive and less secure strip-center
locations. Their inherent weakness is that these
newer branches share common walls and a common attic
space with their neighbors.
Although it rarely hits the news, I
have it on good authority that strip-center bank
robbers have recently utilized the late night
breaking and entering technique. Once inside the
small ATM backrooms, the robbers disable the
security cameras and defeat the alarm systems, if
possible. Then, with the relative security of their
hiding place, the robbers quickly use a “torch” to
cut into the back of the ATM, unload the
cash-cassettes and escape the same way they came in..
Until this rash of “cutting
torch robberies” makes more news, the low
risk and potentially high return will make them ever
more prevalent. It is simply too embarrassing for
any particular bank to admit that they were dumb
enough to allow such easy access to their
depositors’ money.
Appropriate actions to prevent ATM bank robbery:
- Armor plate all ATM rooms that share walls with neighboring businesses.
- In addition to smoke alarms, add high-decibel horn alarms to the ATM rooms, thus making a break-in immediately obvious to the bank’s security department and painful to robbers' ears.
- Add an additional layer of protective armor to the ATM’s cash cassettes.
- Require that the purchaser of any high technology cutting torch (e.g., The MAG9000) register their new torch as they would if they were purchasing explosives or a handgun.
Would the purchase registration of
all high technology cutting torches be an
abridgement of
our freedoms? No, it would only be the
abridgement of freedom to those who rob banks and
other cash-intensive businesses.