Scammers are using Bitcoin ATMs to steal millions, officials warn
Imagine getting a panicked message that your computer is compromised, telling you not to touch it. That’s exactly what happened to Diane Reynolds, a retiree in Maryland. She was totally caught off guard when an online contact warned her that her computer access was blocked “for safety reasons.”
“There was a voice message that was coming on with this that said, ‘Don’t turn your computer on, don’t turn your computer off,'” she recalled to CBS News.
Diane was then told to call a phone number, believing it was for tech support. Instead, she ended up talking to a scam artist. This person convinced her that hackers had gotten into her bank account and that the only way to protect her money was to quickly convert it into Bitcoin.
So, Diane withdrew every penny from her bank account – a total of $13,100 – and, following the scammer’s precise instructions, headed to a Bitcoin ATM at a nearby gas station. This particular ATM was run by Athena Bitcoin, a company that operates over 4,000 such machines across the U.S.
Brian Schwalb, the Attorney General for Washington, D.C., points to incidents like Diane’s as stark examples of a major problem: a huge increase in cryptocurrency scams that seem to be tied directly to these Bitcoin ATM providers. He says these scams have already cost people millions of dollars.
“Bitcoin ATMs are a tool that scammers, and criminals, are using to separate people, including D.C. residents, from their hard-earned money,” Schwalb told CBS News. He went on to say, “Athena, as a bitcoin operator, knows that its kiosks are being used by this element, and yet [has] failed to put proper anti-fraud prevention systems in place to keep it from happening.” What’s worse, he added, is that “they are profiting from this because they’re charging very substantial fees.”
Last September, Schwalb actually filed a lawsuit against Athena. He claims the company charges “undisclosed fees on deposits that it knows are often the result of scams,” and that it hasn’t put in place adequate measures to prevent fraud.
In response, Athena Bitcoin released a statement to CBS News, saying they “strongly disagree with the allegations” and plan to fight the charges in court. They claim to use “aggressive safety protocols to protect the financial interests of our customers,” and that their “kiosks employ multiple safeguards, from prominent warnings and daily transaction limits to five separate verification screens designed to stop coerced transactions.”
Diane Reynolds isn’t just a victim; she’s also suing Athena Bitcoin. Her attorney, Vaught Stewart, didn’t mince words, accusing the company of “not just allowing the fraud to happen — they’re profiting from it.” In Washington, D.C., for example, Athena Bitcoin reportedly charged fees as high as 26% per transaction. Schwalb’s lawsuit even claims that a staggering 93% of all deposits made through the company’s ATMs are linked to scams.
Now, Diane’s goal is to help others avoid losing their life savings like she did. “Now I’m an advocate for just telling people this is real,” she said. “Be aware.”
According to the Federal Trade Commission, financial scams linked to Bitcoin ATMs are definitely on the rise. The Better Business Bureau, which lists crypto-related fraud as one of the most common types of financial scams, notes that older adults are often the target. A key warning sign, they advise, is when an unknown source tells you your computer has been hacked – that’s often the first step in someone trying to trick you out of your money.
