- The FBI has warned citizens over a rise in scams which ends in the victim sending bitcoin through a crypto ATM
- The ruse usually starts with some kind of social element and ends with a request for money
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The victim is convinced to send the money through a crypto ATM
The FBI has warned that a new trend in cryptocurrency ATM in scams is seeing victims lose large amounts of money and has issued warnings about the new practice. The new crypto ATM scam sees the scammers convince victims to withdraw money and pay it to them via crypto ATMs, using the scammers’ QR codes to send the funds. They have offered a number of tips to help ensure that intended victims don’t fall for the scam.
Crypto ATM Scam Starts With Social Interaction
The crypto ATM scam often starts with a social element, such as online impersonation schemes, romance schemes, and lottery schemes, all of which end with a payment being requested in order to facilitate the next stage of the scam – i.e. to collect lottery winnings.
While the methodology varies to this point, the FBI says that the next step is always the same; the victim is asked to withdraw the money from an account into cash and is then directed to a nearby crypto ATM where they are asked to deposit the cash and send it to the scammer via a QR code that is sent to the victim.
As the FBI notes, once the cryptocurrency is on its way it’s very hard to get back or even trace because the recipient “often immediately transfers the funds into an account overseas”.
FBI Offers Tips to Protect Yourself
The FBI has offered a number of suggestions to prevent readers from becoming victims, including not sending money to anyone you have only spoken to online; not following instructions from someone you have never met to scan a QR code and send payment via a crypto ATM; and to never used a crypto ATM that only asks for a name or email address as these are in contravention of federal law, which requires all such machines to confirm an individual’s identity.
