Apparently some of the less pleasant elements of Dutch society learned to blow up ATMs and extract the cash, then the banks there learned to cope, and then they switched to ATMs across the border in Germany. Now the German banks too have learned to cope and the number of ATMs being blown up is receding again, with a 60-70% drop in the areas that formerly had the largest number of bombings.
(Rumour has it that German banks also offer shops better terms on card payments of late, I wonder whether that's connected to these bombings.)
TIL that ATMs are robbed with explosives. Criminals fill machines with propane or acetylene then ignite the gas, or use external bombs. Germany (where 60% of attacks succeed) is Europe's #1 target; landlords don't like to lease to banks with ATMs, because blowing them up endangers other tenants.
<https://np.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1im37e4/til_t...>
The reason is, that it is forbidden to destroy bank notes in Germany.
It was a huge problem in the Netherlands, but the Dutch just added tech that makes the money unusable on explosion. The Dutch criminals just stated to drive over the border.
Also includes an implicit jab at Germans using cash - where one on the regression in safety and social standards, and the partial collapse of the rule of law with big number of thriving explosives-using thugs and gangs roaming around should have been made instead...
Conspiracy theory: it's actually the Deutsche Bundesbank's last-ditch effort to get people to stop using cash, already (Germany is very, very cash-centric relative to most of Europe).
More seriously, though, the Bloomberg article someone linked here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42998489 is worth reading; in particular, states who've brought in countermeasures are seeing less of this.
Apparently some of the less pleasant elements of Dutch society learned to blow up ATMs and extract the cash, then the banks there learned to cope, and then they switched to ATMs across the border in Germany. Now the German banks too have learned to cope and the number of ATMs being blown up is receding again, with a 60-70% drop in the areas that formerly had the largest number of bombings.
(Rumour has it that German banks also offer shops better terms on card payments of late, I wonder whether that's connected to these bombings.)