FBI Warns of Scammers Using Scam Scams Using Crypto ATMs

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The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning against cybercriminals using Bitcoin ATMs and QR codes to defraud unsuspecting individuals. The FBI, in a recently released public service announcement (PSA), said it had seen an increase in the number of scammers asking victims to use physical cryptocurrency ATMs and digital QR codes to perform payment transactions.

“These schemes include online identity theft schemes (the scammer mistakenly identifies himself as a familiar entity such as government, law enforcement, a law firm or a utility company), romance schemes (the con artist establishes an online relationship with a victim creating a false sense of intimacy and addiction) and lottery schemes (a con artist falsely convinces a victim that he has won a prize and therefore asks the victim to pay a lottery fee) ”, noted the PSA.

“The scammer then directs the victim to a physical cryptocurrency ATM to insert their money, purchase cryptocurrency, and use the provided QR code to automatically fill in the recipient’s address. Often times, the scammer is in constant online communication with the victim and provides step-by-step instructions until payment is cleared.

The agency also pointed out that the decentralized nature of the cryptocurrency makes it difficult to recover the victim’s money, with much of the stolen funds being immediately sent overseas instead of being tracked and verified by a Bank.

“This differs from traditional bank transfers or bank transfers where a payment transaction can sit on hold for one to two days before settlement. It can also make it difficult for law enforcement to collect funds and can leave many victims with financial loss. “

Meanwhile, the total crypto scams in 2020 globally stood at around $ 10.52 billion (roughly Rs. 79,194 crore), a Dark Web Link research revealed earlier in April. The same report also pointed out that scams and frauds are a major problem that accounted for 67.8% of total cryptocurrency crimes in 2020.

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