Australian Federal Police Crack Down on Crypto ATM Scam, 77-Year-Old Victim Loses Approximately $280,000

According to ChainCatcher, citing a report from Cointelegraph, the Australian Federal Police have contacted more than 90 Australians as part of an operation targeting crimes involving cryptocurrency ATMs. One of the victims is a 77-year-old widow who lost AUD 433,000 (approximately USD 282,000) in an online dating scam.

The victim met a scammer on a dating app who claimed to be a Belgian man. The scammer lured her into investing in Bitcoin by showing fake documents and claiming to have earned AUD 13,000 in a single week. Over the course of 18 months, the victim transferred her entire life savings into a Bitcoin ATM.