Idaho’s Attorney General is warning citizens to stay alert and not fall for cryptocurrency ATM scams.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Raúl Labrador released a statement warning Idaho families about a rise in cyptrocurrency ATM scams, primarily targeting seniors.
AG Labrador said scammers often contact seniors and pose as government officials or tech support to swindle them out of thousands of dollars.
According to the release, in just one week, a Stinker Store employee helped prevent two seniors from losing over $30,000 to cyptocurrency ATM fraud.
“Cryptocurrency ATMs look similar to regular bank ATMs (see images below) and are often located in gas stations and convenience stores. These ATMs allow people to legitimately purchase and transfer cryptocurrency. However, because they do this using untraceable routing numbers, recovering money once it is sent is nearly impossible and it is why scammers are using this method on unsuspecting Idahoans,” states the release.
Scammers often target seniors because they often have good credit, substantial savings and might be easily exploited via sophisticated phone, text and email scams.
“Criminals are calling Idaho seniors pretending to be from a legitimate business or government agency, then directing them to deposit thousands of dollars into cryptocurrency machines at gas stations to supposedly fix computer problems or pay fake fines,” said Attorney General Labrador. “If anyone demands you put cash into a cryptocurrency ATM for any reason, it’s more than likely a scam and you should report it immediately. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.”
It’s important to note that legitimate banks, companies and government agencies never require cryptocurrency payments for services or fines.
Idahoans who suspect they’ve been contacted by scammers can report incidents at ReportScamsIdaho.gov.
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