ATM Security: When Social Media Can Help Secure ATMs
- In January 2011, four Indonesian students from the University of Gajah Mada (Yogyakarta) took part in a national competition and developed an ATM fraud detection device using social media to send alerts. The 10 per 10 centimetres tool required a 3.5 million rupees investment (about 500,000 euros).
- If the ATM has been the object of a physical attack, a sensor linked to a Facebook or Twitter account will let police forces know through sending a message.
- A proximity sensor makes it possible to detect any changes in the machine’s position and, if altered, triggers a sound alert as well as the sending of a message. An anti-skimming device is also present.
- This tool costs 1,180 dollars and could soon be adopted by several local banks.
- The originality of this device relies in the use of social media to help secure ATMs. Again, it asserts the interest of juxtaposing channels and the variety of needs that these associations could address other than usual commercial and/or promotional ends.
- The Indonesian context is also particularly favourable to the development of solutions resorting to social media: Facebook and Twitter are very popular in this country. Considering their attractive prices, smartphones are everywhere (BlackBerry counts about 2 million users out of 12 million worldwide) and accessing social media in mobile situations is especially popular.