Australian authorities say top crypto ATM users are scam victims and money mules — most transactions from victims or mules forced to deposit money into the machines
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Australian financial watchdog AUSTRAC, or Australian Transactions Reports and Analysis Centre, said that 'scam victims, money mules, and suspected offenders' are the top users of crypto ATMs in the country. According to the agency's press release, its Cryptocurrency Taskforce monitored the biggest crypto ATM transactions in each state and believed that many of these are linked to scams. Unfortunately, most of these transactions were related to victims or mules who were forced to deposit the money into the machines.
'We suspected that a large volume of crypto ATM transactions were probably illicit, but disturbingly, our law enforcement partners found that almost all the transactions we referred involved victims rather than criminals,' said AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas. 'We came across a woman in her 70s who had deposited more than AU$430,000 (approximately US$280,000) into crypto ATMs after falling victim to romance and investment scams. Tragically, she has no way of recovering that life-changing amount of money.'
Unfortunately, the authorities also identified another victim around the same age who lost more than AU$200,000 (almost US$130,000). She thought she was depositing the amount to a legitimate trading firm as part of an investment, but instead lost it all through the crypto ATM.
Fraud and scams like these have been going on for several decades now, so traditional financial institutions now have several safeguards in place to help protect customers against them. However, since cryptocurrency is relatively new, it still hasn't developed safeguards against its illicit use. Aside from that, the inherent decentralized nature of this technology means that it's hard for nations to enforce rules on its use.
Crypto ATMs are making it easier for users to convert their cash into cryptocurrency. But because it's easy to use and looks similar to the usual ATMs that many people are used to, it's also making it easier to scam those who aren't tech savvy, thinking that they're simply depositing money into a bank account.
Although it's not impossible, it's insanely difficult to recover the scammed money. Even though transactions can be easily tracked, the anonymity of wallets makes it difficult to determine who owns them. Aside from that, the victims have to go through legal means to have the stolen cash returned. And even though a court might order the funds returned, the money must be parked on an exchange that recognizes the law of the state that issues the order.
The increasing number of incidents like this, combined with the easy availability of crypto ATMs, suggests that the government must respond sooner or later. The Australian government said that it's 'coordinating a national prevention and education campaign', especially as many people are still likely not knowledgeable about online scams and cryptocurrencies. In the meantime, we'll have to be vigilant against scams like this and warn the people around us to be wary when someone asks them to deposit any amount of money in a crypto ATM — especially if they don't use cryptocurrencies in the first place.
Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Associated Press
34 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Jury deliberates for 2nd day in the triple murder trial of Australian accused of mushroom poisonings
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A jury was deliberating for a second day Tuesday in the triple murder trial of an Australian woman accused of killing her estranged husband's relatives by deliberately serving them poisonous mushrooms for lunch. The jurors who began deliberating Monday are sequestered, a rarity in Australia that reflects public and media fervor about the case against Erin Patterson, with several news outlets publishing live blogs that covered every moment of the two-month trial. The jurors will remain secluded until they reach a unanimous decision on the charges of murder and attempted murder. Three of Patterson's four lunch guests — her parents-in-law Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson — died in the hospital after the 2023 meal, at which she served individual beef Wellington pastries containing death cap mushrooms. The fourth, Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson, became gravely ill but survived. Patterson, 50, told the trial she didn't deliberately poison her guests and must have accidentally mixed up store-bought and wild mushrooms, which she had foraged herself without knowing they were death caps. She also said she ate the mushrooms but didn't get as sick because she threw up soon after the lunch due to an eating disorder. Prosecutors in the case, which has gripped Australia for two years, said the accused woman researched, foraged and served the mushrooms deliberately and lied to investigators to cover her tracks. Patterson accepted she had disposed of a food dehydrator after the fatal meal and reset her phone multiple times. The prosecution said she lied about having a dire medical diagnosis to ensure her guests attended the lunch, cooked individual pastries to avoid poisoning herself, and faked symptoms to make it look as though she fell ill, too. Prosecutors didn't offer a motive but suggested a deteriorating relationship between the accused and her estranged husband, Simon Patterson, as well as her exasperation with her former in-laws. Simon Patterson was invited to the fatal lunch but didn't go. Patterson would face life in prison if she is convicted.
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
$313 charge sparks major warning for Aussie public transport users: 'No one tells you'
Two public transport users in Sydney have been shocked to discover how much they've been paying to get from A to B in the city. The Irish expats thought every time they tapped their card to ride the bus, train, light rail or ferry, it was only costing them $1. That's because the sign on the machine will usually display $1 after you've tapped on. However, a spokesperson for Transport NSW told Yahoo Finance this was only a holding charge. "When a passenger taps on using a credit or debit card or linked device, a pre-authorisation amount of $1 is held temporarily," they said. Money crisis sparks capital city exodus as Australians embrace 'new frontier' Mortgage warning over July RBA interest rate cut Centrelink age pension alert for Aussies travelling overseas "This will appear as a pending transaction and is not indicative of your travel fare. "The reason for this is to account for additional travel and accumulated fares across the day, rather than charging your card multiple times over multiple transactions. "The total cost is then processed at 4am the day after travel, replacing the $1 hold amount."People over the age of 16 will be charged an adult fare when riding on public transport in the city. Buses, trains, light rail and ferries have different prices depending on how far you go and whether you are travelling during peak or off-peak times. However, they range as low as $2.24 and as high as $10.33 for one way. The only exception is the train line from Sydney Airport, which costs $17.34 one way. If you're using that line a lot, there's a $35.16 weekly cap. There's also a daily and weekly cap for buses, trains, light rail, and ferries: $18.70 a day (Mondays to Thursdays), $9.35 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays $50 a week Those daily caps are set to increase on July 14, to $19.30 for Monday to Thursday, and $9.65 for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and public holidays. Transport NSW told Yahoo Finance you can only access these caps if you use the same card each time per day and per week. If you don't tap off correctly, you will be charged the default fare for an incomplete trip, which is the maximum possible fare for that service. The ACT is the only other state or territory that applies a pre-authorisation charge on your debit or credit card when you travel on public transport. As for the various state-based travel cards like Myki and Opal, there is also no pre-authorisation charge. Isabel and Rebecca, both from Ireland, have spent several months in Sydney and weren't aware they were racking up far more in transport charges than just $1 every time. One claimed to have spent $313 in one month, however, Yahoo Finance understands that wouldn't be possible if she used the same card every time each week as it should cap out at $50, or $200 for the month. But it's clear many Aussie travellers have been tripped up by thinking they were only spending $1 each time they tapped on and off. "No one tells you it's not $1. I thought it was $1. Why don't they advertise it or something?" said one person. "It's taken me years to figure that out," added another. A third said: "I've been here for two years nearly and have just found out recently about it. Tell me you don't check your bank statements, without telling me you don't check them." Just make sure you check your account every now and then so you know how much those fares from A to B are really costing in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data

Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
What to know about Kohberger agreeing to plead guilty to murdering 4 University of Idaho students
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murder in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students as part of a deal to avoid the death penalty, an attorney for one victim's family said Monday. Here's what to know about the case and the recent developments: Who were the victims and who is the suspect? Kohberger, 30, is accused in the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen at a home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022. Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times. Kohberger, then a criminal justice graduate student at nearby Washington State University, was arrested in Pennsylvania weeks after the killings. Investigators said they matched his DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene. What has happened so far in the case? Kohberger has been charged with four counts of murder in the stabbings. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if he is convicted. When initially asked to enter a plea in 2023, Kohberger stood silent, prompting the judge to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf. The northern Idaho farming community of about 25,000 people was rocked by the killings and hadn't seen a homicide in about five years. The trial was scheduled to move to Boise after the defense expressed concerns that Kohberger couldn't get a fair trial where the killings occurred. What do we know about the plea deal? Kohberger's trial was set to start in August and was expected to last more than three months. An attorney for the family of Goncalves confirmed that families of the victims received news of the plea deal in a letter from prosecutors Monday. 'We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho,' Goncalves' family wrote in a Facebook post. 'They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected.' In the letter to families, obtained by ABC News, prosecutors said Kohberger's lawyers approached them seeking a plea deal. The defense team had previously tried but failed to have the death penalty stricken as a possible punishment, including arguing that Kohberger's autism diagnosis made him less culpable. The prosecutors said they met with available family members last week, including some members of the Goncalves family, before deciding to make Kohberger an offer. 'This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family,' the letter said. 'This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction, appeals. Your viewpoints weighed heavily in our decision-making process, and we hope that you may come to appreciate why we believe this resolution is in the best interest of justice.' What did prosecutors plan to show at trial? Court filings have shown that prosecutors intended to introduce evidence including Kohberger's 'click history' at with the purchased of a Ka-Bar knife — a military-style, fixed-blade knife — along with a sheath and sharpener months before the killings. A Ka-Bar knife sheath was found next to one of the victims. Prosecutors had also said they also intended to introduce what appears to be a self-portrait Kohberger took on his phone just hours after the killings. In it, he is smiling and giving a thumbs-up gesture. A roommate who was in the home that morning, sleeping and intoxicated, told police she woke up and saw a man she didn't know — someone with 'bushy eyebrows' who was wearing a face mask, prosecutors have said. No motive has emerged for the killings, nor is it clear why the attacker spared two roommates who were in the home at the time. Authorities have said cellphone data and surveillance video shows that Kohberger visited the victims' neighborhood at least a dozen times before the four students were slain. In a court filing, Kohberger's lawyers said he was on a long drive by himself around the time the four were killed. What's next? A change of plea hearing was set for Wednesday, but the family has asked prosecutors to delay it to give them more time to travel to Boise, Gray said. In Idaho, judges may reject plea agreements, though such moves are rare. If a judge rejects a plea agreement, the defendant is allowed to withdraw the guilty plea. The court has issued a gag order that has largely kept attorneys, investigators and others from speaking publicly about the investigation or trial.