Cryptocurrency scammers are always trying to find new ways to get money from gullible people. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently show a new fraud warning regarding the use of crypto ATMs.

Crypto ATM scams

According to the FTC, the scheme usually includes QR codes, crypto ATMs, and scammers asking victims to deposit funds.

While the FTC describes how it’s done, the FTC explains that scammers can claim to be government officials, law enforcement officers, or even local utility employees.

The report added that scammers could also try to get victims’ attention by impersonating lovers or impersonating lottery agents and falsely telling victims that they were cheating.

They then try to convince the victim to withdraw cash from the savings to buy Bitcoin or other coin through the crypto ATM and then give the QR code of the wallet address to the victim. Once this is done, the purchased cryptocurrency is automatically transferred to the scammer’s wallet.

Interestingly, the FBI released one last year too alarm another urged people to keep an eye out for the growing trend in crime related to cryptocurrency ATMs and QR codes.

The FTC concluded:

“Everyone should be aware: Nobody from the government, law enforcement, utility, or price promoter is asking for payment in crypto.”

Crypto crime will hit an all-time high in 2021

A recent report from Chainalysis found that crypto-related crime rose to a new all-time high (ATH) in 2021, with illegal addresses receiving up to $ 14 billion in funds.

This is a huge leap from what was recorded in 2020 when those addresses held about $ 7.8 billion.

Despite the growing amount of cryptocurrencies held by criminals, Chainalysis notes that these only make up a relatively small part of the volume of transactions.

According to the report, illegal addresses accounted for 0.15% of the total trade volume of $ 15.8 trillion, up from 0.34% which then rose to 0.62% in 2020.

This shows that the role of criminals in cryptocurrency transactions is becoming increasingly blurred.

“The criminal abuse of cryptocurrencies has created a major barrier to further adoption, increasing the likelihood that governments will impose restrictions, and worst of all, to the detriment of all innocent people around the world.”

Join Bitcoin Magazine Telegram to keep track of news and comment on this article: https://t.me/coincunews

Follow the Youtube Channel | Subscribe to telegram channel | Follow Facebook page