Cryptocurrency ATMs fuel $2M worth of fraud in Peachtree City

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. – Peachtree City police are warning residents about scams involving cryptocurrency ATMs, which they say have become the number one cause of fraud in the city.

What we know:

Victims have lost more than $2 million over the past eight months, according to police.

Police say it is not just a Peachtree City problem and is happening in communities across the country.

“I can’t be more clear about this. If anybody calls you for whatever reason and asks you to place your money into a crypto ATM, or a Bitcoin ATM, it is a scam,” said Sgt. Brad Millstein of the Peachtree City Police.

Police say there are a number of scams being used these days when con artists trick people out of money using ATMs.

We’ve reported on many of these, such as:

• Arrest warrant scam: the bad guy poses as a police officer and says there’s a warrant for your arrest, like maybe you’ve missed jury duty or haven’t paid your tolls.
• Bank fraud scam: the bad guy says your bank account has been compromised, and you need to deposit your money into a different account. And they get the victim to use the crypto ATM to make the deposit.
• Romance schemes: the bad guy befriends the victim and offers companionship to lonely seniors and then asks for money.
• Computer/TV scams: a pop add warns the user of a virus. Smart TVs, police say, are now vulnerable to being hacked.

“They are basically just like any computer nowadays,” Millstein said.

Police say the problem is so bad, lawmakers need to step in with new regulations for these ATMs.

What you can do:

They are encouraging shop owners to monitor the crypto ATMs in their stores and beware of elderly people there making large deposits. 

Police say if you see an elderly person with a phone in their hand talking on it and standing in front of a cryptocurrency ATM, they say there a good chance they are the victim of a scam, and they are in the process of losing a lot of money. 

They are asking people, or the shop owners, to intercede and stop the transaction.