US Federal Trade Commission Warns Consumers About Falling for Crypto ATM Scam – Regulation Bitcoin News

U.S. Federal Trade Commission has issued warnings to consumers regarding scams using cryptocurrency ATMs. “There’s a new spin on scammers asking people to pay with cryptocurrency,” the FTC described.

FTC’s Warning About Scams Involving Cryptocurrency ATMs

A scam alert was issued by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission Monday regarding cryptocurrency ATMs. The consumer notice, posted by Cristina Miranda from the FTC’s division of consumer and business education, states:

There’s a new spin on scammers asking people to pay with cryptocurrency.

“It involves an impersonator, a QR code, and a trip to a store (directed by a scammer on the phone) to send your money to them through a cryptocurrency ATM,” the notice details.

According to the FTC, scammers could call victims pretending they are from law enforcement or the government. 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 “direct you to withdraw money from your bank, investment, or retirement accounts.”

They will then direct you to purchase cryptocurrency at a location with an ATM. They will then send you a QR Code with their address embedded.

“Once you buy the cryptocurrency, they have you scan the code so the money gets transferred to them. But then your money is gone,” the FTC stressed.

This was the agency’s emphasis:

You will never hear anyone from the government or any prize-promoter tell you to use cryptocurrency.

“If someone does, it’s a scam, every time. Any unexpected tweet, text, email, call, or social media message — particularly from someone you don’t know — asking you to pay them in advance for something, including with cryptocurrency, is a scam,” the FTC warned.

How do you feel about the scams that involve cryptocurrency ATMs. Please comment below.

Kevin Helms

Kevin, a student of Austrian Economics and a Bitcoin evangelist since 2011, was one of the first to discover Bitcoin. His main interests are in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects, cryptography, and intersections between economics, cryptography, and Cryptography.