Has there Been any Recorded Case of Scam Via Bitcoin ATMs?

[Davidvictorson]

Let's talk about Bitcoin ATM shall we? I have never seen a Bitcoin ATM in real life aside from the ones I have seen in pictures and videos on the internet. In my country, the last time I checked there were about 2 Bitcoin ATMs in another city. I doubt that it is still functional because of the government's clampdown on Bitcoin and most probably for security reasons.

We have learned so much about Bitcoin scams and all that happens via exchanges, emails, and so many other ways. I am just curious to know, have there been any scams recorded that have happened via Bitcoin ATMs anywhere in the world?

[Porfirii]

In my country I have read news about several attempts to steal from Bitcoin ATMs (some of them quite incredible, with cars crashing against shop windows and attempts to take the machines).


Source: mundodeportivo.com

I haven't heard about scams specifically, although I'm sure that if devices have been used to copy cards, record keys etc. in legacy ATM's, Bitcoin ATMs won't be very different and there must be cases, even though machines like that are usually surrounded by CCTV.

[Nwada001]

The only type of scam that I have read that involves bitcoin ATMs is where scammers use bitcoin ATMs to convince their victims to send payment to them directly using the machine since it's very easy to use, and there have been high rates of such scams that I have read over the past.
 
And if the ATM is to experience some kind of scam, it's the machine owners that will suffer it since individuals don't have hold any bitcoin in that machine; it's just direct buy and deposit, just as the incident that happens sometimes last year (2023) where hackers were able to penetrate the General Bytes ATM system and succeeded in causing the company to lose over $1.5 million.

[PrivacyG]

In my country I have read news about several attempts to steal from Bitcoin ATMs (some of them quite incredible, with cars crashing against shop windows and attempts to take the machines).

I think nothing will ever beat the comical yet impressive video of this guy from my country taking a Bitcoin ATM from a Mall and walking away with it as if it was nothing.  I was stunned when I saw the video.  It still makes me laugh every time I see it.

The guy was even stopped by security and he simply told them he was the maintenance guy.  And as far as I know, they let him go since they believed him.  He was caught later on, so unfortunately for him he did not escape.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ActLikeYouBelong/comments/u0guc8/a_19yo_stole_a_crypto_atm_from_a_mall_in_romania/

[albon]

A report published on September 3rd by the Federal Trade Commission revealed that the losses suffered by people in Bitcoin ATM scam operations exceeded $65 million in the first six months of this year.

Over the past four years, the amount of losses has increased incredibly. From the reports, for which I will provide sources, it was found that these scammers succeed by impersonating companies, banks, governments, and similar entities using modern technology and forcing victims to scan the QR code available on the device and when they believe the scammers' lies results in depositing their funds into the scammers' wallets and having them stolen... This type of fraud may increase and rise significantly in countries that accept and legalize Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

[1] https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/09/scammers-use-bitcoin-atms-steal-your-money
[2] https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/09/new-ftc-data-shows-massive-increase-losses-bitcoin-atm-scams

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

We have learned so much about Bitcoin scams and all that happens via exchanges, emails, and so many other ways. I am just curious to know, have there been any scams recorded that have happened via Bitcoin ATMs anywhere in the world?

Its not possible that such a thing has not happened in the past, what we may only see in this kind of condition is about the occurrence to this, its not common that you see any related scam associated to the use of bitcoin ATMs.

Not even now that when the use of this same ATM devise had diminished because of it high transaction fees for making use of one and it scarce allocation to some region.

[Cryptomultiplier]

I doubt I have come across any such kind of news about scams via Bitcoin ATMs because for me and for some others in various regions, Bitcoin ATMs is but still a reality in the making.
I have seen videos of such ATMs existing in  a place like an airport in UAE and in some parts of the world like the America, Brazil, Lugano.

Still, one can count how many of these Bitcoin ATMs exist  in the world because cryptocurrency is still an emerging technology that is yet to be given full liberty to thrive and any kind of flaws that makes it susceptible to scams and hacks will be easily detected, probed and prevented.

[BitMaxz]

I doubt I have come across any such kind of news about scams via Bitcoin ATMs because for me and for some others in various regions, Bitcoin ATMs is but still a reality in the making.
I have seen videos of such ATMs existing in  a place like an airport in UAE and in some parts of the world like the America, Brazil, Lugano.

Even the Bitcoin ATM is in a secured area if it's all about scam anything is impossible.
Like for example you dealing with me to buy my $100 gift card and I want you to send me a BTC of around 0.001btc and then since you don't have BTC in your wallet you decided to use Bitcoin ATM to pay me directly on my BTC address. Our conversation is stop after you sent BTC via ATM.

I believe there is a similar case where scammers are using Bitcoin ATMs to scam people.

[BlackBoss_]

I have never seen a Bitcoin ATM in real life aside from the ones I have seen in pictures and videos on the internet. In my country, the last time I checked there were about 2 Bitcoin ATMs in another city. I doubt that it is still functional because of the government's clampdown on Bitcoin and most probably for security reasons.

You can find available Bitcoin ATMs at your location with Bitcoin ATM Map.

Bitcoin ATMs have very impressive growth with time.
https://coinatmradar.com/charts/growth/

Find Bitcoin ATMs in Nigeria by typing your location or address into "Address or location:" search box.
https://coinatmradar.com/bitcoin-atm-near-me/

We have learned so much about Bitcoin scams and all that happens via exchanges, emails, and so many other ways. I am just curious to know, have there been any scams recorded that have happened via Bitcoin ATMs anywhere in the world?

There is a discussion topic on it.
Bitcoin ATM scams have topped to $65 million in the first half of 2024

[cryptoaddictchie]

I think nothing will ever beat the comical yet impressive video of this guy from my country taking a Bitcoin ATM from a Mall and walking away with it as if it was nothing.  I was stunned when I saw the video.  It still makes me laugh every time I see it.

For real? This is quite a funny scene though impressive that he can fake a reason to not get noticed. But taking away a bitcoin atm machine from a mall is crazy. I wonder what he was thinking to accomplish by doing this. Possibly the machine got some nice cash on it.

That is realistically a theft style but not a digital stealer approach.

[avp2306]

Let's talk about Bitcoin ATM shall we? I have never seen a Bitcoin ATM in real life aside from the ones I have seen in pictures and videos on the internet. In my country, the last time I checked there were about 2 Bitcoin ATMs in another city. I doubt that it is still functional because of the government's clampdown on Bitcoin and most probably for security reasons.

We have learned so much about Bitcoin scams and all that happens via exchanges, emails, and so many other ways. I am just curious to know, have there been any scams recorded that have happened via Bitcoin ATMs anywhere in the world?

You can search this information thru Youtube there's lot of cases involve Bitcoin ATM scams.

This is what I found in this platform, all credits to the owner of those videos.

Consumers losing millions to Bitcoin ATM scams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APL1nla6TBU

Connecticut police warn of cryptocurrency ATM scams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWT20G7_lmM

FTC warns of increase in crypto ATM fraud scams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTtuIaeoeZg


To many scams happened and we can see that frauds already penetrate this or using this machines. That's why by hearing this incident people who want to do transactions on Bitcoin ATM's should be more careful since who knows there's a danger waiting for them if they don't pay much attention on any transactions or what they receive random information's online that might compromise them, safety should be the main priority of everybody.[

[Shishir99]

In my country I have read news about several attempts to steal from Bitcoin ATMs (some of them quite incredible, with cars crashing against shop windows and attempts to take the machines).

I guess that was a stupid thing. Do they think they would be able to steal money from the ATM? It's not physical money which they can steal if they can steal the machine. What is the point of stealing a wallet if I cannot open it and cannot use it? Imagine I found a hardware wallet on the beach but I don't know the seed phrases and the password set on it. Do you think I can do anything with that?

I don't know how Bitcoin ATMs work because I haven't seen any Bitcoin ATM in my life since Bitcoin is banned in my country. I feel like it's a waste of time. I don't think they will be able to unlock the device and steal Bitcoin from that machine unless they have some hacking knowledge.

[SquirrelJulietGarden]

I don't know how Bitcoin ATMs work because I haven't seen any Bitcoin ATM in my life since Bitcoin is banned in my country. I feel like it's a waste of time. I don't think they will be able to unlock the device and steal Bitcoin from that machine unless they have some hacking knowledge.

How to use a Bitcoin ATM has information on how a Bitcoin ATM works.

I guess that these criminals intend to use one or some banknotes to buy Bitcoin from the stolen Bitcoin ATM. Then reuse these banknotes repeatedly for many purchases until the hot wallet connected to a Bitcoin ATM is emptied. They possibly thought they can do it when they bring the Bitcoin ATM to their home, and are fully responsible for taking banknotes out of the machine as a real ATM owner, then reuse it for more purchasing rounds.

[PrivacyG]

I guess that these criminals intend to use one or some banknotes to buy Bitcoin from the stolen Bitcoin ATM. Then reuse these banknotes repeatedly for many purchases until the hot wallet connected to a Bitcoin ATM is emptied. They possibly thought they can do it when they bring the Bitcoin ATM to their home, and are fully responsible for taking banknotes out of the machine as a real ATM owner, then reuse it for more purchasing rounds.

Except most of these ATMs are typically monitored at all times and can be triggered and shut down at the tip of a finger if set up correctly.  I can not comprehend how they thought it might work.

[PX-Z]

I couldn't think of any ways to scam bitcoin ATMs or in any ATM in general as of the moment, the commons are card skimming and stealing the ATM itself lol.

Edit: But wait i found this two archive articles[1][2] about scams related on bitcoin ATMs, but for fck sake it's easy to detect, because it's too damned suspicious.

[1] http://web.archive.org/web/20240918095316/https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/09/scammers-use-bitcoin-atms-steal-your-money
[2] http://web.archive.org/web/20240918141743/https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/09/new-ftc-data-shows-massive-increase-losses-bitcoin-atm-scams

[Stepstowealth]

We have learned so much about Bitcoin scams and all that happens via exchanges, emails, and so many other ways. I am just curious to know, have there  been any scams recorded that have happened via Bitcoin ATMs anywhere in the world?

We could hear recorded cases of scams that have happened Via Bitcoin ATM's, but the chances of these events happening around us is very little because Bitcoin ATM's are not everywhere and so crimes that happen via Bitcoin ATM's may not happen in everywhere and every place. There is even something like a trend that I have observed recently that people no longer have interest in using ATM machines because of the long time that they may have to spend before having access to use the machine and also because of the lack of trust that people have that these machines actually have cash in them. I do not know how it is elsewhere so I'm thinking to myself that if people already have this mindset towards ATM machines and they are disused, will this attitude not affect Bitcoin ATM's if they are set up?

[Felicity_Tide]

We have learned so much about Bitcoin scams and all that happens via exchanges, emails, and so many other ways. I am just curious to know, have there been any scams recorded that have happened via Bitcoin ATMs anywhere in the world?

Its not possible that such a thing has not happened in the past, what we may only see in this kind of condition is about the occurrence to this, its not common that you see any related scam associated to the use of bitcoin ATMs.

Not even now that when the use of this same ATM devise had diminished because of it high transaction fees for making use of one and it scarce allocation to some region.

I seriously doubt if there are frequent or any occurance of such scam. Because, I don't see how someone might want to scam another via an ATM. It doesn't really make much sense. It is definitely possible to scam some of his/her Bitcoin, maybe by convincing the person to invest in a scam project, or send to an address for a particular purpose (scamming purposes in general), but I don't think scamming someone via a Bitcoin ATM is literally a scam(not even sure of what to call it now).

Edit:

I still couldn't wrap my head around how these type of scams works, but I decided to make a search. From the search I made regarding this type of scam, the victims are contacted by the scammers after enough convincing, to deposit a certain amount to the scammers QR code which will be sent by the victim using a Bitcoin ATM. Well, to me, it seems the scam was already done during the process of trying to convince the victim. Bitcoin ATM was just an option to make the transfer. So, let's just say scams via Bitcoin ATMs are very much common. I think YouTube has some clips of some victims that shared their stories.

[ImThour]

Not so long ago, I read a thread where it was mentioned that there was a roughly $60 Million worth of scams through Bitcoin ATMs in First Quarter of 2024 itself. I will try to find the link of that post but yea, you can google it and find it very easily. The chances of them being a recorded case is less but definitely, not none. Some people who are paying their taxes and are not doing anytrhing illegal, will surely contact Police in case of them being scammed.

[Davidvictorson]

The only type of scam that I have read that involves bitcoin ATMs is where scammers use bitcoin ATMs to convince their victims to send payment to them directly using the machine since it's very easy to use, and there have been high rates of such scams that I have read over the past.

Yes, I have thought that something like is very much likely to happen if it can happen with regular Fait ATMs it could also happen in bitcoin ATMs too. What I think would make this type of scam possible if the victim is hyponothised and secondly if the victim is a senior citizen. They are the population that would fall easily for this.

~snip~

Wow. The report from the link provided say over $110 million in 2023 lost to bitcoin ATM scammers. There is no way that this would not increase despite the massive awareness, the scammers would change methods and also people would fall or this because they listen to their emotions rather than logic. I like the third point on how to avoid this scam that says "Verify the story." Some people would first act before they thinkverify.

I couldn't think of any ways to scam bitcoin ATMs or in any ATM in general as of the moment, the commons are card skimming and stealing the ATM itself lol.

Edit: But wait i found this two archive articles[1][2] about scams related on bitcoin ATMs, but for fck sake it's easy to detect, because it's too damned suspicious.

Oh, there are many more ways. If you read this article, you will see some of them - https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/09/scammers-use-bitcoin-atms-steal-your-money
Thanks to albon for sharing the link.

Not so long ago, I read a thread where it was mentioned that there was a roughly $60 Million worth of scams through Bitcoin ATMs in First Quarter of 2024 itself. I will try to find the link of that post but yea, you can google it and find it very easily.

Yes this user BlackBoss_ already pointed me to it here- https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5510462.0. Since the topics are quite similar, I'll lock it after a few replies.
Thank you.