Europol publishes German language version of ATM Logical Attack Guidelines

EuropolATM has just published a German language version of guidelines to help industry and law enforcement counter the ATM Logical Attack threat.  The English version of the document was officially launched in January 2019 at the 17th Meeting of the EAST Expert Group on All Terminal Fraud (EAST EGAF).  The document is now available in EnglishFrench, German, Spanish and Russian.

The production of this document was coordinated by EAST EGAF.  It has three sections:

  1. Description of Modi Operandi (Beschreibung Der Vorgehensweise)
  2. Mitigating the risk of ATM Logical and Malware Attacks, Setting up Lines of Defence (Risiken Für Logische System-Angriffe Und Malware-Attacken Auf Geldautomaten Verringern, Abwehrmechanismen Etablieren)
  3. Identifying and responding  to Logical and Malware Attacks (Logische Systemangriffe Und Malware-Attacken Erkennen Und Darauf Reagieren)

The Guidelines were first published in 2015 and this latest version provides clearer definitions and greater clarity of the criminal methods and techniques encountered in these attacks, along with more detailed recommendations on how to mount a robust and effective response to them.  The recent fall in ATM malware and logical attacks, as reported by EAST in the latest European Payment Terminal Crime Report published in October 2019, reflects the work that has been put into preventing such attacks by the industry and law enforcement.

Circulation of the document is restricted to Law Enforcement and to the banking and payments industry, which includes EAST Members (National and Associate).

Europol publishes Russian language version of ATM Logical Attack Guidelines

ATM Logical Attack GuidelinesEuropol has just published a Russian language version of guidelines to help industry and law enforcement counter the ATM Logical Attack threat.  The English version of the document was officially launched in January 2019 at the 17th Meeting of the EAST Expert Group on All Terminal Fraud (EAST EGAF).  The document is now available in English, French, Spanish and Russian.

The production of this document was coordinated by EAST EGAF.  It has three sections:

  1. Description of Modi Operandi (ОПИСАНИЕ CПОСОБОВ РЕАЛИЗАЦИИ АТАК)
  2. Mitigating the risk of ATM Logical and Malware Attacks, Setting up Lines of Defence (МИНИМИЗАЦИЯ РИСКА ЛОГИЧЕСКИХ АТАК И АТАК С ПРИМЕНЕНИЕМ ВРЕДОНОСНОГО ПО, УСТАНОВКА ЛИНИЙ ЗАЩИТЫ)
  3. Identifying and responding  to Logical and Malware Attacks (ИДЕНТИФИКАЦИЯ И РЕАГИРОВАНИЕ НА ЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ АТАКИ)

The Guidelines were first published in 2015 and this latest version provides clearer definitions and greater clarity of the criminal methods and techniques encountered in these attacks, along with more detailed recommendations on how to mount a robust and effective response to them.  The recent fall in ATM malware and logical attacks, as reported by EAST in the latest European Payment Terminal Crime Report published in October 2019, reflects the work that has been put into preventing such attacks by the industry and law enforcement.

Circulation of the document is restricted to Law Enforcement and to the banking and payments industry, which includes EAST Members (National and Associate).

Europol publishes Spanish language version of ATM Logical Attack Guidelines

Logical AttackEuropol has just published a Spanish language version of the new guidelines to help industry and law enforcement counter the ATM Logical Attack threat.  The English version of the document was officially launched in January 2019 at the 17th Meeting of the EAST Expert Group on All Terminal Fraud (EAST EGAF), and the French version was published in March 2019.

The production of this document was coordinated by EAST EGAF.  It has three sections:

  1. Description of Modi Operandi (Descripción De Los Ataques Lógicos)
  2. Mitigating the risk of ATM Logical and Malware Attacks, Setting up Lines of Defence (Mitigación De Los Riesgos Y Establecimiento De Líneas De Defensa)
  3. Identifying and responding  to Logical and Malware Attacks (Identificación Y Respuesta Frente A Ataques Lógicos A Cajeros Automáticos)

This new version provides clearer definitions and greater clarity of the criminal methods and techniques encountered in these attacks, and more detailed recommendations on how to mount a robust and effective response to them.

Circulation of the document is restricted to Law Enforcement and to the banking and payments industry, which includes EAST Members (National and Associate).

EAST EGAF holds 18th Meeting in Amsterdam

EGAFThe Eighteenth Meeting of the EAST Expert Group on All Terminal Fraud (EAST EGAF) took place on Wednesday 8th May 2019 at ING Domestic Bank in Amsterdam.

EAST EGAF is a regional expert group that focuses on regional and global payment terminal crime and fraud related issues, threats and counter-measures.

The meeting was chaired by Mr Otto de Jong and was attended by key representatives from Terminal Deployers, Terminal Vendors, Networks, Card Schemes, Security Equipment and Software Vendors, Law Enforcement and Forensic Analysts.

The Group, which meets three times a year in advance of each of the meetings of EAST National Members, enables in-depth and technical discussion to take place on Logical and Malware attacks, Card Skimming, Card Trapping, Cash Trapping and Transaction Reversal Fraud.

In addition EAST EGAF generates EAST Fraud Alerts for all EAST Members (National and Associate). In total 210 EAST Fraud Alerts have been issued, 9 to date in 2019.

EAST EGAF meetings are restricted to working group members and, to provide a wider platform for sharing/discussion, the Group is holding a half-day open seminar in London on 9th October 2019.  Registration for this is now open and more information can be found on the EAST Events website.

Europol publishes French language version of new ATM Logical Attack Guidelines

ATM LogicalEuropol has just published a French language version of the new guidelines to help industry and law enforcement counter the ATM Logical Attack threat.  The English version of the document was officially launched in January 2019 at the 17th Meeting of the EAST Expert Group on All Terminal Fraud (EAST EGAF)

The production of this document was coordinated by EAST EGAF.  It has three sections:

  1. Description of Modi Operandi (Description des Modes Opératoires)
  2. Mitigating the risk of ATM Logical and Malware Attacks, Setting up Lines of Defence (Réduction du risque d’Attaques Logiques et de Programmes Malveillants visant les DAB, Mise en place de Lignes de Défense)
  3. Identifying and responding  to Logical and Malware Attacks (Identification et réponse aux Attaques Logiques et de Logiciels Malveillants)

This new version provides clearer definitions and greater clarity of the criminal methods and techniques encountered in these attacks, and more detailed recommendations on how to mount a robust and effective response to them.

Circulation of the document is restricted to Law Enforcement and to the banking and payments industry, which includes EAST Members (National and Associate).

Europol launches new ATM Logical Attack Guidelines at 17th EAST EGAF Meeting

ATM Logical AttackEuropol has published new guidelines to help industry and law enforcement counter the ATM Logical Attack threat.  The document was officially launched at the 17th Meeting of the EAST Expert Group on All Terminal Fraud (EAST EGAF), which took place on Wednesday 16th January 2019 at ING Domestic Bank in Amsterdam.  Production of the document was coordinated by EAST EGAF.  It has three sections:

  1. Description of Modi Operandi
  2. Mitigating the risk of ATM Logical and Malware Attacks, Setting up Lines of Defence
  3. Identifying and responding  to Logical and Malware Attacks

The original Guidelines were published in 2015 when law enforcement and the private sector came together to support the banking and payments industry. That report, the first of its kind, provided vendor-neutral guidance on countermeasures to such attacks, as well as a collection of indicators that could be used to detect when an incident may have occurred.  This new version provides clearer definitions and greater clarity of the criminal methods and techniques encountered in these attacks, and more detailed recommendations on how to mount a robust and effective response to them.

Steven Wilson, Head of Business at Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), said “This updated and refocused edition of the report draws upon the expertise of an expanded panel of experts from both law enforcement and the private sector. In addition to the key role played by EAST, I would like to extend my thanks to Diebold Nixdorf, GMV, ING, INTERPOL, NCR, TMD Security and Trend Micro for their invaluable work and contributions, without which this report would not be possible.  I continue to look forward to Europol’s engagement and cooperation with all of our partners within private industry and law enforcement in such endeavours, and our continuing fight against threats affecting the payment industry.”

Circulation of the document is restricted to Law Enforcement and to the banking and payments industry, which includes EAST Members (National and Associate).

17TH EAST EGAF Meeting

The 17th Meeting was chaired by Mr Otto de Jong and was attended by Europol and INTERPOL as well as by key representatives from Terminal Deployers, Terminal Vendors, Networks, Card Schemes, Security Equipment and Software Vendors and Forensic Analysts.

EAST EGAF is a regional expert group that focuses on regional and global payment terminal crime and fraud related issues, threats and counter-measures.  The Group, which meets three times a year in advance of each of the meetings of EAST National Members, enables in-depth and technical discussion to take place on Logical and Malware attacks, Card Skimming, Card Trapping, Cash Trapping and Transaction Reversal Fraud.

In addition EAST EGAF generates EAST Fraud Alerts for all EAST Members (National and Associate). In total 204 EAST Fraud Alerts have been issued, 3 to date in 2019.

EAST EGAF meetings are restricted to working group members and, to provide a wider platform for sharing/discussion, the Group is holding a half-day open seminar in London on 9th October 2019.  Registration for this is now open and more information can be found on the EAST Events website.

200 Fraud Alerts Issued by EAST

EAST has published its 200th Fraud Alert.  These Alerts are issued by EAST National Members, often with the support of Law Enforcement and other EAST Associate Members.  To date 28 countries have issued Fraud Alerts covering ATMs, Unattended Payment Terminals (UPTs) and Point of Sale (POS) Terminals.

EAST first started issuing Fraud Alerts in September 2013.  These Alerts provide valuable and timely intelligence to law enforcement agencies and the industry, allowing the spread of emerging threats and criminal methodologies to be tracked across the world.  While most of the Alerts have been issued by countries within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), there have been some from Belarus, Mexico, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States.

To date EAST Fraud Alerts issued have covered:  Black Box attacks (cash out / jackpotting); Card Shimming (S1 devices); Card Skimming (highlighting the spread of different devices such as M1, M2, M3, D2 and D3); Card Trapping; Cash Trapping; Deposit Fraud; Eavesdropping (highlighting the use of different MOs such as E2 and E3); EMV Shock Cards; Malware (cash out / jackpotting); Transaction Reversal Fraud; and Vandalism.  The table below shows a summary the Alerts issued:

Fraud Alerts

Definitions of the different fraud types and related terminology are available on this website.

The EAST Expert Group on All Terminal Fraud (EGAF) initiated the Fraud Alerts and conducts in-depth analysis of some of the emerging threats and devices.  Each Alert covers: the type of fraud; the country where discovered; the terminal type(s) affected; an indication as to whether or not the fraud was successful; a description of the device and the criminal MO; indication as to the device location; information on PIN compromise (if card skimming or card trapping); and any available images.

EAST also issues Payment Alerts and Physical Attack Alerts.

EAST Alerts contain sensitive information and are restricted to EAST Members (National and Associate).  They are classified as AMBER using the variant of the Traffic Light Protocol (TLP) adopted by EAST.

EAST FCS – Terminal Fraud Seminar

Open Event: Delegate places are limited.  Early registration is advised. REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN.

EAST FCS – Terminal Fraud Seminar

This interactive event focuses on EAST EGAF and follows the basic structure of EAST EGAF Member meetings.  An introduction to the Group will be followed by a presentation of the latest EAST Fraud Statistics (H1 2019) and a high-level overview of the European situation by Europol.  Then a session will then focus on the terminal fraud situation in four countries/regions, followed by a short discussion.  This will be followed by a practical demonstration of Project Checkcard, aimed at checking the validity of EMV cards, followed by a session topic still tbc.  .

EAST FCS - Terminal Fraud SeminarAttendance at EAST EGAF meetings is limited due to the size of the Group and this event enables a wider participation and the opportunity for all attendees to engage with the Group and its organisers.

Want to attend the 2019 Event?  REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN.

See the EAST FCS 2019 Programme

Event Sponsor

Interested in being a sponsor for the 2019 event?  Contact our Events Team

EAST EGAF holds 16th Meeting in Amsterdam

EGAFThe Sixteenth Meeting of the EAST Expert Group on All Terminal Fraud (EAST EGAF) took place on Wednesday 19th September 2018 at ING Domestic Bank in Amsterdam.

EAST EGAF is a regional expert group that focuses on regional and global payment terminal crime and fraud related issues, threats and counter-measures.

The meeting was chaired by Mr Otto de Jong and was attended by key representatives from Terminal Deployers, Terminal Vendors, Networks, Card Schemes, Security Equipment and Software Vendors, Law Enforcement and Forensic Analysts.

The Group, which meets three times a year in advance of each of the meetings of EAST National Members, enables in-depth and technical discussion to take place on Logical and Malware attacks, Card Skimming, Card Trapping, Cash Trapping and Transaction Reversal Fraud.

In addition EAST EGAF generates EAST Fraud Alerts for all EAST Members (National and Associate). In total 195 EAST Fraud Alerts have been issued, 28 to date in 2018.

EAST EGAF meetings are restricted to working group members and, to provide a wider platform for sharing/discussion, the Group is holding a half-day open seminar in London on 10th October 2018.  Registration for this is now open and more information can be found on the EAST Events website.

Terminal Fraud

terminal fraudWhile most payment transactions take place seamlessly and without issue, financial criminals remain active and terminal fraud is a problem for payment terminal deployers, ATM deployers, card issuers, equipment manufacturers and vendors, software providers, law enforcement agencies and other payment industry stakeholders.  On 10th October 2018 the EAST Expert Group on All Terminal Fraud (EAST EGAF) will hold an open Financial Crime & Security (FCS) Seminar in London to focus on the issue.  EAST EGAF is chaired by Otto de Jong of ING Bank.

EAST Executive Director Lachlan Gunn said ‘EAST EGAF was formed as a working group in 2013 and will hold its 16th Meeting on Wednesday 19th September 2018 in Amsterdam. Attendance at EAST EGAF meetings is restricted in accordance with the group’s Terms of Reference, which makes the coming FCS Seminar in October a great opportunity for all those affected by, or concerned about, terminal fraud to engage with EAST’.

This interactive event focuses on two key outputs of EAST EGAF – Guidelines regarding logical attacks on ATMs and standardised fraud definitions.  An introduction to the Group will be followed by a presentation of the latest EAST Fraud Statistics (H1 2018).  A session by Juan Jesús León Cobos of GMV will then focus on the evolution of cash-out/jackpotting attacks in Latin America, followed by a session by Europol’s Tobias Wieloch highlighting Guidelines on how to counter them.  A perspective on card shimming in the UK will then be given by forensic experts Brian Underhill and Nick Weber, followed by a session on the importance of standardising fraud definitions by Ben Birtwistle of RBS and Claire Shufflebotham of TMD Security. The event is co-located with RBR’s ATM & Cyber Security 2018 Conference.  See the full programme here.

Attendance at EAST EGAF meetings is limited, as it is a working group, and this EAST FCS Seminar enables wider participation and the opportunity for all attendees to engage with the Group and its organisers.


The Seminar is sponsored by: