Protecting an ATM with the FMC650 tracker

Installation. The FMC650 from the Teltonika professional range is mounted inside the ATM casing and powered from its mains supply. So that the signal gets out through the steel safe reliably, the tracker is connected to an external cellular aerial brought outside the casing. The tracker is also connected to the machine's communication systems, so monitoring runs continuously.

Door sensors. Compact wireless EYE Sensor units go on the doors and service compartments and talk to the tracker over Bluetooth. The sensor picks up opening and movement. If a door opens outside the servicing schedule, the EYE Sensor tells the tracker immediately and the tracker sends an alert to the monitoring system.

Tilt and movement. The FMC650's built-in accelerometer tracks the position of the ATM. In ordinary life the machine stands still, so a noticeable change of angle is a sign that someone is trying to wrench it out, tip it over or load it up. The tracker runs angle monitoring in the mode used when the ignition signal is off, and raises an alert when a set threshold is exceeded.

If the machine is taken away. The tracker goes on transmitting coordinates and security sees the route in real time. That gives the police a chance to intercept the vehicle, and the bank a chance to get the machine and some of its contents back.

Back-up connectivity. The FMC650 has two SIM card slots, so if one operator has problems the tracker switches to the other. For remote sites with a weak cellular network a satellite modem can be connected to the tracker, and the alert will go out over the satellite channel.

What an alert looks like. At night the duty officer at the security service receives a notification: on the ATM at a filling station outside town the service compartment door has opened, and no cash replenishment is scheduled. A minute later a second event arrives — the machine's angle of tilt has changed. The duty officer sends a crew at once and informs the police, while the map shows the exact place. If the machine has already been moved, the screen shows which way it is being taken.

Separating the events. So that security does not drown in alerts, events are graded by importance. A door opening inside the servicing window is written to the log without an alert. The same opening at night is an alert. Tilting or movement of the machine is always an alert, because an ATM does not move in normal operation. Loss of power is worth separating out as well: it can be caused by a fault in the mains or by an offender cutting the power before breaking in.

If the power is cut. The tracker is powered from the ATM's supply, and in case of a power cut the FMC650 has a built-in back-up battery: it is enough to send the power loss event and to transmit coordinates for a while. How long exactly depends on the reporting frequency, so the mode used after a power cut is configured separately.

Link to the security service. Alerts reach the duty officer in the monitoring platform and as notifications. If the bank or the security company has its own control room, events can be passed to it through the platform API, with the format agreed separately with the owner of the control room.

Handover at the site. After fitting, every site is checked against a short list: open a door outside the servicing window and confirm that the alert reached the duty officer; open one inside the servicing window and confirm that there is no alert; simulate a tilt; cut the power; check connectivity through both SIM cards. Until all five points have passed, the site does not count as protected.

Maintenance. The tracker's data also helps to keep an eye on technical condition: power cuts and abnormal events are visible immediately, which reduces ATM downtime.