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by Josh Calixto
ATM fraud has come a long way since the days of crude skimming devices and brute-force break-ins. Today’s attackers are organized, highly technical, and capable of causing massive financial damage in just minutes.
The stakes are high: global ATM fraud losses reached $2.4 billion in 2023, and U.S. attack cases have surged 600% since 2019. Even a single incident can be devastating, with some institutions losing millions overnight and up to 10% of their customers in the aftermath.
To see our full visual guide to preventing ATM fraud in 2025, check out our new infographic, which covers the main threats you need to know and outlines some best practices to help prepare for those attacks.
The Modern ATM Threat Landscape
In 2025, ATM fraud comes in many forms:
- Physical Attacks – Ramraids, explosive gas attacks, and hook-and-chain methods that rip apart the safe.
- Logical and Malware Attacks – Hackers exploit software or network vulnerabilities to trigger “jackpotting” or bypass authentication.
- Card and Data Capture – Skimmers, shimmers, and covert cameras harvest customer information.
- Cash and Card Trapping – Devices that physically trap money or cards for later retrieval.
- Insider Abuse – Compromises from within due to weak controls or malicious intent.
To help safeguard your financial institution from this growing list of threats, you’ll need more than one layer of security. Some of the most important best practices include:
- Regularly patching and updating ATM operating systems.
- Deploying tamper sensors, reinforced safes, and high-security locks.
- Encrypting internal communications to prevent black box attacks.
- Using AI-powered monitoring to spot and stop attacks in real time.
- Training both staff and customers to recognize suspicious activity.
Download the full infographic
to see all the stats, attack breakdowns, and actionable steps to protect your ATMs—and your customers—in 2025 and beyond.