The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned consumers about scams involving cryptocurrency ATMs. “There’s a new spin on scammers asking people to pay with cryptocurrency,” the FTC described.
FTC warning about scams involving cryptocurrency ATMs
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a scam alert on Monday involving cryptocurrency ATMs. The consumer advisory, issued by Cristina Miranda of the FTC’s Consumer and Business Education Division, states:
There’s a new spin on scammers asking people to pay with cryptocurrency.
“It involves a copycat, a QR code, and a trip to a store (run by a scammer on the phone) to send them your money through a cryptocurrency ATM,” the notice details.
The scammers might call the victims pretending to be from the government, law enforcement, or a local utility company, the FTC noted. They could also pretend to be a romantic interest you met online or someone calling to inform you that you’ve won a lottery. They will stay on the phone with you until they’ve got your money.
The FTC explained that the scammer “will ask you to withdraw money from your bank, investment, or retirement accounts.”
Next, they will direct you to go to a store with a cryptocurrency ATM and buy cryptocurrency. Then they will send you a QR code with their address embedded in it.
“Once you buy the cryptocurrency, they make you scan the code to have the money transferred to them. But then your money is gone,” the FTC pointed out.
The agency emphasized:
Nobody from the government, law enforcement, utility company, or prize promoter will ever tell you to pay them with cryptocurrency.
“If someone does it, it’s a scam, every time. Any unexpected tweets, text messages, emails, calls or messages on social media – especially from someone you don’t know – asking you to prepay them for something, including cryptocurrency, is a scam,” the FTC warned.
