ATM-related fraud losses in Europe fell 14% to EUR268 million in 2010, thanks to a drop in attacks on machines, according to figures from industry group East.
East (European ATM Security Team), which bases its figures on statistics from 22 countries, says the EUR44 million drop in losses is the second consecutive annual fall, following a 36% reduction in 2009.
In total, there were 12,383 ATM related fraud attacks in 2010, down seven per cent on the previous year.
Losses from card skimming have tumbled in recent years, from a peak of EUR315 million in 2007 to EUR123 million last year. The majority - 82% - of the remaining skimming-related losses are now international, with most now occurring in countries outside of Europe.
East says that the risk of counterfeit EMV cards being used to withdraw cash fraudulently from ATMs in parts of the world that are not chip and PIN compliant remains high.
As the risks of skimming diminish, the number of reported explosive and gas attacks has gone up for the second year in succession to 278, an 88% increase when compared to 2009. Overall losses rose 18% to EUR33 million.
Lachlan Gunn, director, East, says: "The continuing drop in fraud losses is very good news for both cardholders and the industry, and indicates that the significant investment made by the European banking sector into EMV technology, as well as into anti-skimming devices at ATMs, is now really starting to pay off."