When Fran Bates received a call that her bank account had been hacked, the 85-year-old wanted nothing more than to protect her savings.
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So she listened to the instructions given to her on the other end of the line.
As ABC News reported, Bates was told to withdraw more than $40,000 and deposit it into a Bitcoin ATM kiosk in the Fort Worth area to keep it safe. [1] She was in the process of feeding more than $23,000 in cash into an ATM when Myndi Jordan, another customer who was there at the time, called the police. Jordan had previously fallen victim to identify fraud and said she immediately recognized it as a scam.
Lieutenant James Stewart of the White Settlement Police Department arrived at the gas station. Police bodycam footage shows he took Bates’ cellphone and confronted the scammer, who was giving her instructions about putting her money into the ATM. Stewart stopped Bates from finishing the transaction, even as the scammer told her to click on “I’m done,” and because of that, she didn’t lose any money.
Bates later called Jordan her "guardian angel" in an interview with ABC News. She also called Stewart her "knight in shining armor."
But not all stories like this have a happy ending. It’s important to understand what a Bitcoin ATM scam might look like and how to avoid being a victim.
Bitcoin ATM scams are on the rise
Bitcoin ATM scams have become increasingly common. In 2024, the FTC reported that consumers lost more than $110 million in 2023 to Bitcoin ATM scams — an almost tenfold increase since 2020. And in the first six months of 2024 alone, Bitcoin ATM scams cost consumers more than $65 million with the median loss at $10,000. Consumers over age 60 were also more than three times likely than younger adults to report losing money in a Bitcoin ATM scam.
Meanwhile, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that in 2024, it received 10,956 complaints about crypto ATM fraud, with $246.7 million in losses reported.
In a Bitcoin ATM scam, a person is usually conned into depositing money into a Bitcoin ATM. Sometimes, there’s a fake call or message from a bank employee warning of fraud. Other times, it may be someone pretending to be a romantic interest who’s in financial trouble and needs money. The victim is typically given instructions to go to a Bitcoin ATM to deposit cash into a specific digital wallet. That way, the scammer can take possession of the money.
The reason Bitcoin ATMs are so popular among scammers is that these transactions are very hard to trace. Also, once a transaction goes through, it typically can’t be reversed. Traditional ATMs are more regulated and tend to have more safeguards in place.
Amy Nofziger, AARP’s director of fraud victim support, told ABC News that crypto is now the “No. 1 preferred method of criminals,” calling it a "huge problem."
The problem is bad enough that lawmakers and regulators are intervening.
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In September, Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb sued Athena Bitcoin, saying the company’s own data shows 93% of transactions on its devices in its first five months of operations in the District were "the direct result of scams." The median age of scam victims was 71 and the median amount lost per fraudulent transaction was $8,000.
“Athena knows that its machines are being used primarily by scammers yet chooses to look the other way so that it can continue to pocket sizable hidden transaction fees,” said Schwalb.
ABC News said that AARP has been pushing for stricter Bitcoin ATM regulations, such as caps on daily deposits. It also says that at least 17 states have passed regulatory measures in recent years, and that some municipalities have tried to ban Bitcoin ATMs completely.
Recently, Arizona passed new laws regulating Bitcoin ATMs. House Bill 2387 limits daily transactions to $2,000 for new customers and requires kiosks to display warnings about fraud. ATM operators must also issue full refunds to new customers who were defrauded, provided the victim reports the fraud to law enforcement or the Attorney General and the ATM operator within 30 days.
If more states continue to crack down on Bitcoin ATMs and impose regulations, it could eat into the profits of the companies that operate these ATMs and result in them becoming less prevalent. That could lessen the likelihood of fraud.
How to protect yourself from becoming a victim
Clearly, Bitcoin ATM scams are a big problem. But there are some steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim.
For one thing, never respond to an unsolicited call, text, or email from your bank asking you to send money. In fact, avoid sending money via a Bitcoin ATM for any reason, whether it’s to "protect your bank account" or because someone you’ve met on the Internet claims to need help.
Scammers can even use deepfake technology to make it seem like a person you know, like a family member, is calling you asking for help and insisting that you deposit funds into a Bitcoin ATM. Don’t buy it.
In a situation like this, hang up (in the case of an incoming call) and initiate a call to the bank or person in question yourself to see what’s going on. For example, if your bank claims there’s an issue with your account, call your bank directly or walk into a branch to dig deeper. If “your daughter-in-law” has called and asked for a Bitcoin ATM deposit, hang up and call her number back.
Unfortunately, older people are more likely to fall victim to these types of scams. So it’s important to educate your loved ones on how they operate.
It’s equally important to report these scams to the FTC if someone tries to rob you or a loved one of your money. You should also file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Getting your money back in a Bitcoin ATM scam is unlikely. Because these transactions are irreversible and hard to trace, you may not have much recourse. That’s why the best thing to do is avoid becoming a victim in the first place.
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ABC News (1)
This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: 85-year-old Texan saved from a Bitcoin ATM scam by ‘guardian angel’ — the $250M warning all Americans should heed
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.