In Ohio, cases of Bitcoin ATM fraud are increasing, with criminals deliberately targeting the public.
Police in Westlake, Ohio, have reported an increase in fraud cases involving Bitcoin ATMs. Criminals are using these machines to defraud unsuspecting citizens of their money. One notable case involved a married couple who would have lost nearly $17,000 had it not been for the intervention of an alert Chase Bank manager.
The couple intended to withdraw the money to pay a supposed bail bond for a Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office warrant. The bank manager, recognizing the unusual nature of the transaction, alerted police. While this couple was rescued, others were less fortunate. In another case, a woman fell victim to a scam after stumbling upon a fake Microsoft support number.
She was instructed to withdraw $40,000 to protect her account. The scammers claimed her computer was infected with a virus obtained from illegal websites. The woman deposited $20,000 into a Bitcoin ATM before an alert gas station employee could intervene. According to cyber analyst Alex Hamerstone, such scams often begin with a sense of urgency.
The perpetrators pretend to want to help the victim ward off a perceived attack. Hamerstone emphasizes that the police never call in advance to announce an arrest. The IRS also does not accept payments in the form of gift cards. In another incident in Westlake, a victim was asked to deposit $5,500 into a Bitcoin ATM at a convenience store after receiving a call from the Social Security Administration.
The store owner promised to remove the machine within a month. Captain Jerry Vogel of the Westlake Police Department advises extreme caution when receiving instructions to purchase gift cards or deposit cash into an ATM. Most transactions involving crypto ATMs end in fraud.
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