Hyderabad: Flawed auditing and inadequate supervision of the private cash replenishment agencies who recharge ATMs with money has resulted in problems like fake notes coming out of ATMs and thefts. The poor security system of banks and the agencies have made ATMs highly vulnerable.
As the ATMs are insured the banks do not pay much attention to safety. Cyberabad police has now sent a notice to one major service provider, Cash Management Service (CMS), which covers 1,200 ATMs across the city, for negligence.
Apart from the recent incident of CMS employees stealing cash, there were earlier incidents in which the money van’s driver fled with the cash.
“In Raidurgam, the employee of an agency named Secure Value opened ICICI Bank’s ATM and fled with Rs 9.1 lakh. In another incident, the van driver of an agency named Logic Cash Solutions fled with Rs 30 lakh at LB Nagar,” said a police official from Cyberabad.
The police was always apprehensive about the employees working with private cash supply agencies. Background checks are not conducted for most employees and they are not adequately paid. “We are sending a notice asking CMS officials if they have conducted background checks,” said Malkajgiri DCP Rama Rajeswari.
The security system of these agencies is flawed as the passwords or keys of the ATM chests can be reused by employees.
“The security of ATMs was certainly compromised in the case of CMS. We are also getting complaints of fake notes coming out of ATMs and we strongly suspect the employees of the cash agencies,” said DCP Rajeswari.
The police had asked banks to improve ATM security by hiring guards and installing high resolution cameras. But many ATMs in the city still do not have security.
