Adoption of Biometric System to Control ATM fraud - Essay Example

Looking forward to hearing from you and partner with you in providing business solutions that give value to your customers. Yours faithfully, Head of Business Security Systems Practical proposal about ATM fraud Introduction Fraud attempts targeting Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) cards are on the rise. Skimming is one of the techniques used by criminals in this case where they scan or copy personal information from the magnetic strip of a credit card or ATM card. With this information, all the fraudsters need is fake ATMs and use the Personal Identification Number (PIN) to access one’s bank account and defraud customers.

This has gone to the extent of bank-owned ATMs with the recent percentage of this criminal activity going as high as 24% in Europe (Abagnale 89). The act is often perpetrated by techno-savvy individuals, where they use a microchip fixed at an ATM or cardholders which copies information from the magnetic strip for all the cards that are being used on a given machine. The information is then copied and printed on fake cards. This has led countries like Canada to adopt more protection for their ATM cards.

A typical example is the use of chip-and-PIN debit cards which have more protection in the form of an extra layer of chip material. Cards developed through this technology are hard to replicate thus reduced losses as a result of card skimming (Bianchini et al., 233). Business transactions world over are increasingly being settled using cards as opposed to cash-based settlements and therefore, without embracing innovative technologies that aim to prevent fraud than detection, card issuers and users will remain vulnerable.

As use of cards increases, so are ATM Fraudsters. Most card issuers mainly banks continue to incur huge costs in terms compensations, card replacement, and cost of investing in fraud prevention and detection mechanism. Therefore, there is a need for card issuers to be ahead of the game by innovating and adopting far near fraud-proof technologies (Newman, 3-4). Proposed Solution Since the chip-and-PIN is not foolproof, we need to employ the use of more sophisticated technologies. One such technology that has stood the test of time is the biometric technology, which involves automated identification and data capture (AIDC).

The system has automated methods of verifying the identity of persons using physiological attributes as opposed to the chip and PIN, which involves manual keying in of information on a keyboard. Normally, the technology works by capturing the physiological or behavioral characteristics for the first time which is then stored in a central database. Information recorded may include facial properties or fingerprints. Every time a customer accesses a point of services, installed devices captures, verifies and identifies the person and then gives them access.

Since it is almost impossible to impersonate one’s physiological attributes, this technology is more recommended to card issuers. The technology has been tested in both private and public institutions with remarkable success. In fact, most organizations are now moving towards adoption of this technology.