FRANKFURT, Germany: An aggressive crackdown by the German police has led to just 115 ATM explosions so far this year, compared with 496 in 2022, when attacks averaged more than one a day.

For years, Dutch criminals driving into Germany, blowing up ATMs in the middle of the night, grabbing the cash, and racing back home along the Autobahn was a familiar scene.

The attacks had terrified residents across Germany, where cash is still widely used and ATMs are often located under apartments or in pedestrian areas. Since 2020, the damage has totaled over 400 million euros (US$466 million).

"The threat level in Germany remains high, especially due to the use of highly unstable explosives," said a September report by the federal criminal police, or BKA.

But as German authorities tighten security, the gangs are moving further south — to Austria, another cash-loving country. ATM blasts have doubled this year, which the BKA described as "a squeezing-out effect from Germany."

Dutch police suspect hundreds of men are involved, forming new groups as old members are arrested. One Dutchman accused of stealing 220,000 euros from ATMs near Frankfurt in 2023 is now awaiting trial after being arrested for blowing up machines in Vienna earlier this year, taking 89,000 euros and causing 1.5 million euros in damage.

Investigators say this crime wave is rooted in two distinctly German factors: the country's strong cash culture, which means many ATMs, and its fast Autobahn network, which makes for easy getaways.

In response, German banks have spent more than 300 million euros on security measures — a small sum compared with the sector's 50 billion euros in annual profits. Many ATMs now release dye to ruin stolen bills, fill lobbies with fog when tampered with, or are locked at night.

The number of attacks has dropped sharply in almost all German states. In North Rhine-Westphalia, bordering the Netherlands, cases fell from 182 in 2022 to just 25 so far this year. Still, the damage can be severe: one blast near Cologne in January caused 1.8 million euros in losses.

Police credit the decline to closer cooperation with Dutch authorities. Most suspects are Dutch, but some are German, French, or Moldovan.

In Hesse, home to Frankfurt, police even use a predictive tool that estimates the risk of an ATM being targeted based on its location and design. Germany's parliament also voted last week to toughen prison sentences for such crimes.

In Austria, attacks have climbed to 29 this year from 13 in 2024, according to the interior ministry, which first noticed the Dutch gangs in 2023. With Austrians being the most frequent cash users in the euro zone, there's no shortage of targets. Police there say they are now working closely with colleagues in Germany and the Netherlands to counter the surge.