The FBI warned that criminals are targeting underground markets to steal cryptocurrencies from unsuspecting users. The agency urged people to be vigilant when using ATMs and advised against storing large amounts of cash at home, which is a vulnerable target for burglars.
The “bitcoin atm survey team” is a US agency that has given tips on how to deal with the rise in crypto ATM fraud. The agency also released a report about the issue.
The FBI, a federal law enforcement agency in the United States, has issued a warning about a new sort of cryptocurrency fraud that is gaining traction. A fraudster persuades a victim to deposit money into a crypto ATM in order to transmit money through QR code.
Scams using cryptocurrency ATMs and QR codes
Rug pulls, as shown by the current fraud with the Squid Game token, are one of the most well-known cryptocurrency frauds.
Investors in the $SQUID currency were unable to withdraw their monies. This was first portrayed as part of the process and in keeping with the TV program where one person gets the “pot.” However, after large price surges, the developers squandered the liquidity, leaving investors high and dry.
The FBI, on the other hand, advises that this QR code fraud entails a lot more “grooming” of victims, which may happen in a variety of ways. Scammers use impersonation of authorities, romance cons, and lottery scams in which the victim must submit money in order to obtain the lottery wins, according to the report.
“Online impersonation schemes (in which a scammer impersonates a known entity such as the government, law enforcement, a legal office, or a utility company), romance schemes (in which a scammer establishes an online relationship with a victim by creating a false sense of intimacy and dependency), and lottery schemes are examples of such schemes.”
The follow-up is the same regardless of the strategy used. A request for payment is sent, along with a QR code from the scammer’s wallet to transmit the money.
The fraudster then directs victims to go to an actual cryptocurrency ATM, enter cash, buy cryptocurrency, and use the QR code to auto-fill the scammer’s wallet address. According to the FBI, the fraudster is often present in online conversation, delivering step-by-step instructions until the payment is completed.
What can you do to avoid becoming a victim of this con?
The FBI advises individuals not to trust strangers they encounter online in order to prevent losing money. Even if they believe they have developed a connection with that individual.
This includes not scanning QR codes according to instructions or responding to persons claiming to be representatives of a firm or agency. The FBI also advises caution when dealing with entities that claim to solely take cryptocurrency.
“These organizations will very certainly not tell you to transfer money, send cheques, move money abroad, or make deposits into the accounts of strangers.”
Overall, the FBI’s recommendations for avoiding crypto frauds don’t add anything to what is already common knowledge.
It’s always a good idea to think twice before transferring money to someone you’ve never seen in person, and this rule applies to all types of payment, not just crypto.
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The “what is a bitcoin atm” is a question that comes up often. The US agency FBI has given tips on how to deal with the rise in crypto ATM fraud.
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