Dutch banks across the country have had to close their ATMs for cash deposits by small businesses – after an undetonated bomb was found left in a cash machine located in the town of Enkhuizen in West Frisia, North Holland.
Geldmaat, the largest facilitator of ATMs in the country is the provider of the network of 500 sealbag machines. For those not familiar, sealbags are a popular option for small business owners who want to drop off cash across the Netherlands, providing a quick way to drop off takings and receive an account credit.
The attempted bomb attack on the machine in question did not detonate successfully and its discovery has now led to the entire network being temporarily shut down. As ABN Amro explained, “The possibility of undetonated explosives being left behind in a seal bag machine after such an attack poses an extremely dangerous risk.’
The Dutch ATM system has been particularly prone to targeting with banks shutting down overnight cash machine operation after criminal gangs continually employed explosives to raid cashpoints. There is now talk of stationing security guards at machines to prevent future attacks.
Another reason to move towards a cash free society!
