Victims report new scams involving Bitcoin ATMs in the U.S.

AARP fraud expert Amy Nofziger told ABC News that Bitcoin ATM scams are increasingly targeting older Americans.

Amy Nofziger, director of fraud victim support at the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), said that scammers now favor using cryptocurrency - especially Bitcoin ATMs - because the transactions are quick and nearly impossible to undo. She explained that criminals are increasingly guiding victims, often older adults, to deposit cash into these machines, a practice linked to almost $250 million in losses in 2024 and now the subject of several lawsuits against major ATM providers.

I’ve talked to doctors, lawyers, professors - anyone can become a victim of these crimes,

Nofziger said.

Adam Zarazinski, CEO of the crypto forensics firm Inca Digital, said many Bitcoin ATM operators either know their machines are being used for fraud or are choosing to ignore the problem.

In September, the attorney general of Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit against Athena Bitcoin, accusing the company of hiding fees from victims and claiming that 93% of the transactions on its machines in the District were fraudulent, with a median victim age of 71. Athena denied the accusations, saying it provides clear warnings and educational materials and cannot control users’ decisions.

Earlier this year, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird filed similar lawsuits against Bitcoin Depot and CoinFlip, calling them “silent partners” to scammers. Both companies rejected the claims, saying most of their transactions are legitimate. They pointed to measures such as ID requirements, multiple scam warnings, and refunding transaction fees in confirmed fraud cases.

Scammers often target senior crypto investors through so-called grandparent scams. In these cases, fraudsters use new technologies such as artificial intelligence to mimic the voices of loved ones, convincing older people to send money urgently. According to the FBI, Americans over 60 lost around $4.8 billion to scams in 2024, the highest amount of any age group.

In one rare success story, 85-year-old Fran Bates of Fort Worth, Texas, narrowly avoided losing $23,000 in June 2024 after another customer, Myndi Jordan, noticed her feeding cash into a Bitcoin ATM and called the police. Officers arrived in time to stop the transfer, and Bates was later reimbursed for her money.

AARP has warned its 38 million members that Bitcoin ATMs have become one of scammers’ favorite tools. The organization is calling for stricter rules, including daily deposit limits, and notes that at least 17 states have already passed laws regulating the machines, while some cities have moved to ban them altogether.

AARP’s Amy Nofziger warns about growing Bitcoin ATM scams