Crypto ATMs becoming Source of Illicit Transactions, Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, Litecoin

The crypto segment has grown rapidly in the last few years. Cases of scams related to this segment are also increasing. Crypto ATMs that provide the facility to buy cryptocurrencies with cash are becoming a major means of illegal transactions. Apart from cash, people can also buy cryptocurrencies from these ATMs using debit and credit cards.

According to a report by blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, over the past four years Crypto ATMs have processed illegal transactions worth about $160 million. “Last year, illegal transactions accounted for 0.63 percent of the crypto ecosystem, while such transactions accounted for about 1.2 percent of the total volume processed by crypto ATMs. Last year, more than $30 million was sent to scam crypto addresses via crypto ATMs,” the report said. A large number of crypto ATMs have been installed in countries like the US, Spain, El Salvador, and Australia.

Action is also being taken against crypto ATMs in some countries. Last month, 13 Bitcoin ATMs were seized in Germany for violating the Banking Act. Recently, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had informed that these scams have increased by 53 percent last year. Regulators in some countries have prepared to make rules for the crypto segment to deal with this problem.

The FBI had said in a report that last year, frauds under the guise of investment in cryptocurrencies had increased to $3.94 billion. In the previous year, people had lost about $2.57 billion in these frauds. In such scams, fraudsters offer advice on crypto-related investments and ask people to invest in fake tokens. In this, the lure of getting high returns is given. Usually, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are used to trap people in this scam. The FBI has said that last year it received about 8,80,400 complaints of financial scams. About $12.5 billion was lost in these scams. The FBI has asked those investing in crypto to enable two-factor authorization so that their funds cannot be transferred to other accounts without their permission.