Bitcoin ATMs and a Massive American Scam
Bitcoin ATMs are not a new phenomenon for Americans. These machines, which operate like regular ATMs dispensing cash and handling credit transactions, are not available in many countries and are even banned in some.
However, since 2020, the number of these machines in the U.S. has increased more than fourfold.
Scammers have gradually realized that forcing people to deposit into these machines is an unparalleled way to steal their money, as the funds are quickly converted into Bitcoin, and the flow of money in another wallet is not easily or quickly traceable.
A particular aspect of this type of fraud is targeting the elderly. It’s natural that a significant portion of seniors are unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies, and if they are deceived, they don’t know the real way to recover their money and are unaware of specific legal avenues and authorities that deal with cryptocurrency fraud. A large part of the frauds in this area in recent years indicates organized behavior. It’s no longer possible to deceive someone with just a phone call or an email, and even seniors have repeatedly heard about fraud warnings through emails and calls.
This is why, in most cases, an organized team of several people, pretending to be from the police, bank, Treasury Department officials, or similar examples, convinces their target to convert their money into Bitcoin to save it from a supposedly threatened account. They lure the target to a Bitcoin ATM and make them scan a QR code, unknowingly converting their money into Bitcoin and handing it over to the scammers. The amount of capital lost by American citizens in this advanced type of fraud has increased tenfold in one year, reaching over 110 billion dollars.
This type of fraud and similar ones should be a major warning for the people and government officials of Iran.
Numerous reports of various websites being hacked and the disclosure of Iranian citizens’ information have surfaced in recent months.
Modern frauds start with simple calls to citizens, and contact information of citizens is widely traded in the dark online space.
Naturally, we should also expect a rise in various types of fraud using citizens’ information in Iran.