In the past year there have been more attempted and completed attacks on ATMs than ever before. The BKA counted almost 500 attacks. The thieves stole a record amount and caused property damage in the millions.
Criminals are increasingly targeting ATMs in Germany. In the past year, negative records have been registered for attempted and completed ATM attacks and looting. That goes from the “Federal situation report attacks on ATMs” of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).
In 2022 there were a total of 496 such acts in Germany, the highest level since records were made in 2005. That was around 26 percent more than in the previous year, when 392 cases were recorded.
The perpetrators were able to loot almost 30 million euros in 2022. Last year it was around 20 million. The resulting damage was estimated to be in the mid double-digit million range. The amount of damage is therefore significantly higher overall than the amount stolen.
Perpetrators were more violent than before
The criminals acted brutally: the majority of the perpetrators used solid explosives. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office, this is a continuation of a trend seen in recent years. So-called attacks on ATMs can also include opening them with angle grinders or crowbars, for example. In other cases, the machine is stolen in its entirety.
In addition, the BKA found that the perpetrators were more willing to use violence, which included threats and bodily harm as well as deprivation of liberty.
More than half of the perpetrators from the Netherlands
According to the BKA, 128 suspects became known, only slightly more than in the previous year. Of these, 87 suspects traveled from abroad, 75 of them from the Netherlands. More than half of the identified suspects therefore had Dutch nationality.
According to the BKA, a decrease in the number of cases observed in 2021 is likely to be due to corona restrictions in Germany and the Netherlands.
Voluntary protective measures against increasing numbers of cases
Against the background of a long-term increase in the number of cases, security authorities and representatives of the private sector agreed on voluntary protective measures last June and November 2022.
These included, for example, the night lock of ATMs, the use of coloring or adhesive systems and a reduction in maximum cash holdings.