Thieves attacking vendor automated teller machines on O'ahu struck again early today in the airport industrial area.

Police were unsuccessful in attempts to reach service technicians of the company which owns the ATM located at a North Nimitz Highway drive-in to determine if cash was stolen in the 2:15 a.m. break-in.

Since April 1, there have been at least eight break-ins or attempts at breaking into ATMs on O'ahu, including one which was part of a takeover robbery at Aiea Cue pool hall on April 3. Kaua'i, meanwhile, has had four cases since February, three in which thieves took the standing ATMs, including one from a hotel lobby.

Honolulu police have organized a task force to investigate the recent surge in thefts from ATMs. While bank robbery is a federal crime, the ATM cases are classified as first-degree thefts.

The standing machines being targeted do not belong to any of Hawai'i's major banks. Most of the Honolulu machines are from a federal credit union and Halawa-based vendor and usually lack overhead surveillance equipment.

The recent trend, while relatively new in Hawai'i, has been a national and international problem for several years.

According to ATM Security, thieves using construction equipment broke into 50 ATM machines in Japan in 2003 and stole 326 million yen (equivalent to $2.7 million U.S. currency at the time). In the United Kingdom, six million pounds ($11 million U.S.) were stolen from ATMs in 2005.

The vendor ATMs are usually not bolted down, making it easy to haul off the machines, which is common in the United States, according to ATM Security.