Vending Operators Under Attack From Physical And On-Line Threats

By Ian Reynolds-Young

Vending operators are under attack. The vicious armed robbery suffered by Selecta in Cumbernauld is an example of the vulnerability of vending operators – but they must also contend with the growing threat of cyber crime.

 

It must have been a terrifying experience. Whilst locking up at the end of a working day, three armed thugs threatened a member of staff at Selecta, on the Westfield Industrial Estate in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire. He was forced to re-enter the building and whilst one intruder threatened him with a firearm, the other two stole cash.

The thieves knew exactly what they were doing

Originally reported as ‘a five-figure sum’, it’s understood that the thieves made off with upwards of £50k. The full story of the attack is here.

The police were in no doubt that the thieves knew exactly what they were doing – this was not an example of the miscreants ‘getting lucky’.

Vending Operators Under Attack
Selecta’s Cumbernauld Depot.

Detective Inspector David Reilly, of Coatbridge CID, is reported as saying: ‘This was no doubt a targeted robbery. The men who did this knew what they were looking for and what they could get. The majority of the five-figure sum stolen was in £2 and £1 coins – an enormous amount of coins that would have been difficult to move quickly.’

It makes you squirm to realise that this was a crime planned well in advance, by criminals who knew when the maximum amount of cash would be on the premises.

The last bastions of cash-handling

As society careers head-long into the cashless age, vending operators are exposed as one of the last bastions of cash-handling. According to respected trade journal The Retail Gazette, statistics show that card spending has risen exponentially year-on-year for a decade.

‘Debit and credit card sales accounted for 77 per cent of the total retail spend in May. Retail sector spending increased by £154 million to £24.6 billion. There were 100 million more purchases made on card than this time last year.’

What’s more, 18% of all card purchases are now made with contactless cards, compared to seven per cent in May 2015.

Vending Operators Under Attack
‘The men who did this knew what they were looking for.’ DI Reilly, Coatbridge CID

No names no pack-drill: an eminent vending operator once showed me around the area on his premises in which cash was stored. It was like Forth Worth and the military impression was reinforced by the fact that the cash was kept in ex-army ammunition boxes. But given the situation in which an unarmed employee is confronted by a trio of armed bandits, no amount of locked doors can prevent the inevitable.

Quite what vending operators can do to nullify this invidious threat is unclear and it seems rather stale to warn them to ‘be careful’.

Vending companies are being hacked

Even as cash is gradually removed from the equation, the danger persists. I was contacted recently by the MD of a major UK operator and he told me that his company – and others – are being targeted by hackers.

‘Vending companies are being hacked and targeted by ransom ware organisations’, he told me. ‘Cyber crime is more difficult to stop, roller shutters and CCTV don’t stop data theft. You won’t know it’s happened until it’s too late.’ Quite so…

‘Vigilance’ is the order of the age. As technology gets smart, the underworld gets smarter. As Sergeant Phil Esterhaus habitually told his men at the beginning of every episode of Hill Street Blues, ‘let’s be careful out there’.

 

 

About the author

The Editor

Planet Vending’s Editor is Ian Reynolds-Young and it’s Ian’s unique writing talent that has made PV what it is today – the best read (red) vending blog in the world, and vending’s best read (reed). Ian ‘tripped and fell into vending’, in the capacity of PR executive, before launching a specialist agency, ‘reynoldscopy’, dedicated to the UK Vending business. The company continues to represent the interests of many of the sector’s leading brands.

‘It’s all about telling stories’, he says. ‘We want to make every visit to PV a rewarding experience. By celebrating the achievements of the UK’s operating companies, we’re on a mission to debunk the idea that vending is retailing’s poor relation.’

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