The culprits tried to to pull the cashpoint at Aboyne Filling Station free using a blue Land Rover Defender at about 01:45 on Sunday.
The vehicle was abandoned at the crime scene.
Det Insp Richard Taylor appealed for anyone who saw the vehicle in the area in the hours before the incident to contact Police Scotland.
It is not known how much money was in the machine.
The Land Rover Defender is thought to have been stolen from the Dinnet area.
Thieves fled empty-handed after an attempted raid on a cash machine in Aberdeenshire failed.