Over 150 distinctive rip-off reviews filed with ReportCyber through the interval.
Common loss per sufferer exceeded AUD 20,000.
Crypto ATMs in Australia surged from 40 in 2022 to over 1,800 by 2025.
Australia is dealing with a recent wave of crypto-related scams, this time involving the fast growth of cryptocurrency ATMs throughout the nation.
New information from ReportCyber exhibits that Australians misplaced over AUD 3.1 million to scams involving crypto ATMs between January 2024 and January 2025.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has now issued a warning, urging better public consciousness as these frauds more and more goal susceptible demographics, significantly these aged over 50.
With greater than 1,600 crypto ATMs now working within the nation—up from simply 23 in 2019—the chance of exploitation is rising in parallel with accessibility.
Over 150 reviews filed, common loss tops AUD 20,000
Between January 1, 2024, and January 1, 2025, Australia’s nationwide cybercrime reporting platform, ReportCyber, obtained 150 reviews particularly associated to crypto ATM scams. This equates to roughly one report each two and a half days.
The overall estimated losses stood at AUD 3,107,600, with a median lack of greater than AUD 20,000 per incident, in line with the AFP.
Authorities recommend that these numbers could solely characterize a fraction of the actual affect. Many victims don’t report their instances as a consequence of embarrassment, unawareness, or problem navigating the reporting course of.
AUSTRAC, the nationwide monetary intelligence company, revealed that round AUD 275 million flows via cryptocurrency ATMs yearly in Australia.
A good portion of that quantity is linked to fraudulent exercise, though the precise determine stays unquantified.
Lack of regulation, rising utilization worsen threat
Crypto ATMs, usually located in simply accessible locations resembling comfort shops or subsequent to youngsters’s merchandising machines, provide comfort at the price of safety.
Bitcoin’s irreversible nature and the low identification necessities of many machines make them ultimate instruments for scammers.
Not like conventional financial institution transactions, as soon as crypto is distributed by way of an ATM, there’s just about no strategy to get better the funds.
The issue will not be remoted to Australia. Within the US, the Michigan Legal professional Normal’s Client Safety Division has raised related alarms about Bitcoin ATM scams focusing on older adults.
In Canada, authorities have beforehand flagged these machines as potential conduits for cash laundering. The UK prosecuted a person final yr for working an unlawful Bitcoin ATM.
Regardless of world efforts to crack down on misuse, rules governing these machines stay patchy.
With out necessary Know-Your-Buyer (KYC) procedures, scammers can exploit the anonymity and velocity of crypto transfers to maneuver illicit funds shortly and invisibly.
Scammers prey on urgency, faux officers, and emotional manipulation
Crypto ATM scams usually comply with well-established social engineering strategies.
The AFP highlights that scammers sometimes contact victims posing as authorities officers, financial institution employees, or tech help brokers.
Some victims are lured via romance scams, funding guarantees, or job affords, usually involving intense emotional manipulation and stress to behave urgently.
The sufferer is then instructed to withdraw money and deposit it right into a crypto ATM, usually whereas on a stay name with the scammer.
Fraudsters generally declare the transaction is important to “safe accounts” or forestall authorized motion.
These techniques exploit each digital illiteracy and psychological vulnerability, particularly amongst seniors.
To fight these scams, the AFP and AUSTRAC suggest heightened public consciousness and higher schooling about cryptocurrency fundamentals.
As Bitcoin’s worth continues to rise and ATM numbers develop, specialists warn that the difficulty may worsen with out coordinated regulatory intervention.
