FTC Issues Public Warning Over New Crypto ATM Scam

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a warning about a new version of a scam involving cryptocurrencies. The scam has three key components, an imposter, a QR code and a crypto ATM through which victims are directed to send funds.

According to the FTC, scammers often pose as public officials, law enforcement officials or employees of local utilities. The impostors also took advantage of dating apps, pretending to be potential romantic partners, or calling their victims to announce their wins.

No matter how it starts, it always ends up with the scammer asking for your money. If a user falls for the scam, the scammer will ask them to withdraw some cash and go to a crypto ATM. After that, they will ask to buy cryptocurrency through this crypto ATM machine. Here, QR codes come into play. They share the QR code of their wallet address with the victim. Thus, once the victim scans the QR code, the purchased crypto assets are transferred to the scammer's account.

Cristina Miranda of the FTC's Division of Consumer and Business Education explained:

“The main thing to know: Governments, law enforcement, utility companies, or award promoters will not let you pay them in cryptocurrency. If anyone does, it’s a scam, no exceptions.”

Meanwhile, a cryptocurrency crime report revealed that $7.7 billion worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen globally in 2021. This represents an 81% increase compared to 2020.

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