Cryptocurrency ATMs are becoming an increasingly popular method used by scammers to receive funds from defrauded victims, according to the US FBI Miami field office.
FBI warned about so-called “pig butchering scams,” where swindlers pretend to be long-lost friends or possible romantic partners to eventually take money from their victims.
They reportedly “fatten up” their victims by showing a seemingly genuine interest in them to gain their trust, before they gradually start discussing investments.
Many of the recent scammers directed victims to transfer funds via crypto ATMs, as well as wire transfers to overseas accounts and buying large amounts on prepaid cards.
The FBI commented: “The use of cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency ATMs is also an emerging method of payment.
“Individual losses related to these schemes ranged from tens of thousands to millions of dollars.”
In “pig butchering” scams, victims are “coached through an investment process” and “encouraged to make continuous deposits by the fraudsters”, it added.
There are over 38,000 crypto ATMs worldwide, according to data from Coin ATM Radar, with them having long been used by scammers who pose as public officials, law enforcement agents or employees of local utility companies.
They trick victims into sending payments under the impression they are paying off bills or unpaid taxes, so they avoid more penalties.
The FBI asked people to “verify the validity of any investment opportunity”, to look out for domain names impersonating real exchanges and misspelt URLs and to not download anything without verifying legitimacy.