Australia’s crypto ATMs are officially under the microscope, with regulators discovering few “financial futures” and “con artists are ongoing.” In the national Sting work, Australia’s Transaction Reporting and Analytics Centre (Austrac) identified 90 top Crypto ATM users, but not whales or tech nerds.
The report states that these users are mostly victims of fraud and money mules, and that unconsciously unconscious criminals are unconsciously leaking dirty money through those flashing digital booths. This comes as US states tighten the rules of crypto ATMs to curb the rise in scams. This is because these machines are often used by fraudsters.
Crypto ATM turns fraud hotspots
Austrak-led, federal and state police-backed investigations revealed that the majority of high-value crypto ATM transactions across the country are linked to fraud. This includes romance scams, investment scams and scams that have been carried out based on a variety of promises.
Reports show that one woman in the ’70s lost more than $430,000 after being fooled by a combo of fake love and fake profits. However, there is no way to recover the looted money.
The task force tracked down another woman in the ’70s and sent $20 million to a “trading company” that disappeared faster than internet trust. The woman conded after seeing what she thought was a legitimate advertisement about the company that gave her hope for a massive return.
Austrac CEO Brendan Thomas wrote in words, “We suspected that a large number of Crypto ATM transactions were probably illegal, but most of the transactions we considered were victims and not villains.”
The reality is dark as these machines, once considered futuristic gateways to the crypto economy, are hijacked as tools for emotionally manipulative robbery that breaks and renders victims helpless.
Crypto fraud is rising from cash
Australia’s watchdog has already dropped their hammers by introducing stricter regulations. This includes a $5,000 cap on ATM transactions, mandatory fraud warnings, enhanced identity checks, and better monitoring. Thomas advised that if you are considering using a cryptographic ATM, someone else should ask you to ask them to deposit cash on one of these machines. Sending money into a wallet that you don’t control means you lose it.
On the other side, states across the United States are rolling out strict new laws to crack down on crypto kiosks. The report suggests that between 2020 and 2023, Crypto ATM-related scams have swelled nearly 10 times. The FBI has said that a loss of $247 million has been tied to these kiosks after 99% of complaints in 2024.
Americans over the age of 60 are more than three times more likely to escape via crypto ATMs than their younger counterparts. It’s not just scams, but how they are designed. The scammers will sacrifice every step, such as going to this gas station, scan this code and supply cash. Most of these victims have never touched the code before and will likely never happen again after fraud.
However, the digital asset market is growing every day. Cumulative crypto market capitalization has skyrocketed over 2% to reach $3.31 trillion in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin is trading over $108,000 in press time, while Ethereum hovers around $2,439.
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