Scam Victim in need of help!

[sheenshane]

I should have known it was complete bullshit, and i knew deep down. But I didn't think, and in the heat of the moment, withdrew only $1k and I deposited the money into the bitcoin ATM.

That was complete BS and you should know by that from the start if you really committed a crime as what they accused to you by calling your number. It's really suspicious why you also agreed on what scammers say. Probably, you're in a panic mode.

You can't reverse once a Bitcoin transaction confirmed, but there is a chance you will recover fun and find who's blackmailing you that acting as authorities.
The scammer uses a phone number to receive that Bitcoin you deposited and I'm sure that scammer used custodial wallet which is phone number and other personal information linked. There's nothing we can do and cant undo everything unless if you will able to track the hacker's address through the number used.

[seoincorporation]

That QR code could be 2 things:

1.-The address where you send the bitcoin (95% chance)
2.-Te privatekey of a paper wallet made with that depo (5% chance)

If it's the address where you send the bitcoin then is nice evidence of the scam and you can start a legal case with that, if is a private key then you are holding the coins and you only have to import that privatekey to a wallet to get them.

[Rengga Jati]

..I clearly wasn't looking either, and just took a picture of the QR code and sent it to the scammer's phone number.

'
This is where your money went, yeah the QR is for the BTC address of the scammers. If your transaction has been a success, it means that your transaction has been sent to the scammer wallet.

In this case, I'm sorry to hear that, but this scam is actually very common to happen in my country. But the way is not by giving BTC but transferring money to a bank account. Actually the pattern is almost the same.

If so, is there a way to exchange my bitcoins back to normal currency?

'
Unfortunately, if your transaction was successful, it means that your money has gone. You cannot get your money back or even get the BTC. You may not be able also to track where the money has gone because it is sometimes anonymous. Hopefully, this can be a big lesson for you and all of us to be more careful whatever the news and condition.

[cabron]

Why does the officer need to have funds sent to him before they can do what?

Feel sorry for you girl, but it's all gone now. I would probably be asking for the officer to come to serve the warrant for my arrest just to see how true the investigation they are doing. But yup we all panic especially when its the first time.
I'm curious how anyone found out you got into cryptocurrency, did you keep reposting cryptocurrency updates on your social media account?

[pawanjain]

Ok so as you said you have already deposited the $1000 into the Bitcoin ATM and you are worried if you are able to retrieve the funds back or not.
The answer to this question lies on the picture that you have taken on your phone.

Now there are 2 possibilities on what the picture is about and whether you can retrieve the funds back or not.

1. The picture you have taken is of a QR code of the transaction you made
-In this case you won't be able to recover the funds since it's already gone

2. The picture you have taken is of a QR code which reveals the private key of the bitcoin address in which you have made the deposit.
- In this case you will have to keep the QR code safe and fetch the private key from it.
Once the private key is fetched you will have to access the bitcoin wallet through the private key and then exchange it for fiat via the many ways we have.

Also I think there is one more possibility that the bitcoin ATM itself is fake and is planted by the scammers which shows a dummy QR code upon making the deposit. If so then your money is gone and unfortunately you won't be able to get it back.

[lepbagong]

It's sad to hear information like this that you have experienced, because you were telephoned by someone who claimed to be from the government, about you being involved in money laundering and so on.
your problem is why you don't re-check with the local government officials with the phone data that contacts you, why immediately believe it.
because all frauds can happen especially in a state of fear that you experience, the fraudster will make you not control yourself and do what you are told.

when you make a deposit into the bitcoin atm it's clear the machine will ask for the address to send and accommodate the bitcoin that you provide. I do not know what address has been given to you, but it can be ascertained that person's bitcoin wallet number.
if that happens then you don't expect something miraculous will happen that your bitcoin will come back again.

in principle, everything must be rechecked if it receives very urgent information. the goal is to avoid mistakes in moving what we will do from the information.

I do not know what is the state of accepting bitcoin in your country, if in my country bitcoin has not been recognized as a legal exchange.
then for like in my country you will be difficult to take care of it.
Try to get into your country's forum and tell everything about this. There may be clearer input, because every country is very different in accepting bitcoin.

[pixie85]

I confirm that there are 2 possibilities an ATM operates and many people above have already told you that.

1.
It can make an address for you and display qr codes with public and private keys for this address. Then once you send money to that address the ATM will convert them into bitcoins and store it for you in the blockchain.
Having the qr code scanned or printed you can access your funds from any computer.

2. It can allow you to send coins to a speciffic address but in that case you have to enter the target address into the machine. In your case it would be the scammer's address.

But I didn't think, and in the heat of the moment, withdrew only $1k and I deposited the money into the bitcoin ATM.

You created a "wallet" using the ATM. It was yours until you gave it away to the scammer.

The machine told me to take a picture of the screen once i deposited my money, and i'm going to assume there was some important information on it like a bitcoin address for the transaction? I clearly wasn't looking either, and just took a picture of the QR code and sent it to the scammer's phone number.

Most likely it displayed this

https://www.athenabitcoin.com/news/2018/4/9/how-to-use-a-paper-wallet

Do you have a printed receipt from the machine? Look at the part where it says "public key"
Scan it and paste into the search field on this site https://blockchair.com/ You can also type it there.

Share the results with us. If there's a withdrawal it means the scammer took your money. If there are funds on the address you still might be able to get it back.

[thesmallgod]

Your bitcoin was sent through the ATM and you send the qr code that contain your private key to the scammer. There is nothing you can do your money is gone. You should find out more about this before sending the coin. Almost every week, a new form of scam is being recorded which is part of reason why you should be conscious before sending any coin

[jahepahit]

You wouldn't have been able to send the btc without a valid Bitcoin address. Some things are not clear about your explanations. Firstly these accusations are heavy and is not what should be treated as a phone conversation if it's a true one. This is where you should know that something is fishy. If possible you sent the bitcoin to the scammer address, there is no way to retrieve it.