Bitcoin ATM Scams Trick Victims Into Losing Thousands

Bitcoin scams are rising sharply worldwide, leaving victims to lose millions of dollars. Multiple people reported that in such scenarios, they often feel hypnotized. These scams are actually designed based on extensive psychological manipulations. Scammers disrupt users’ thought processes and push them to take sudden actions.

In 2025, Massachusetts alone reportedly lost over $77 million due to Bitcoin ATM scams. Similarly, in 2023, US victims lost over $114 million to these scams. Australia also suffered a $3.1 million loss in one year. It pushed the country to introduce strict regulations to counter these scams.

According to law enforcement data, the most common targets of bitcoin scammers are individuals using bitcoin for the first time or older adults. They target their physical and informational weaknesses, convert Thai cash, and send it to their own wallets. Once it’s done, it’s nearly impossible to trace or recover the funds for any institute, regardless of its strength or technological advancement.

How Scammers Exploit Bitcoin ATMs?

They often use impersonation tactics. They pretend to be a senior police officer authorized to investigate and be helpful in difficult circumstances. They also act as government agents to maintain checks and balances on cryptocurrency regulations.

The Bitcoin ATM was designed for ease of use, but it has now become a major disaster, mainly due to misleading information and a lack of technical knowledge. The scammers may also loot the victim by pretending to be a bank security staff or even a distressed family member.

But the question is: how do they trick the victim’s psyche into making such blunders? The answer is that they play with fear and urgency techniques. They tell the victim that their bank accounts are compromised, and for security, they have to transfer them to another bank. They took step-by-step control of the victim’s withdrawal process, including how to withdraw cash and feed it into a Bitcoin ATM.

They guide the user through a continuous call, and as soon as the ATM converts cash into cryptocurrency, it is directly transferred to the scammer’s wallet, not the user’s. Their technique involves first instilling fear and isolating the victim, then creating urgency, leaving them unsupervised and preventing them from seeking advice. They build a false sense of authority and urgency.

Victims’ Description: “It’s Almost Like I Was Hypnotized”

Victims often say that they felt completely mentally controlled. Those who suffer from such scams also often face fear and shame in the rest of their lives regarding how they have been manipulated. According to a woman from Massachusetts, she spent around 3 hours on a call with a scammer while feeding $18,000 into a Bitcoin ATM, bill by bill. They keep the victim in a trance, preventing him from talking to anybody else because of their fear of losing money.

Victims consider scammers to be officials performing their duties, thereby preventing citizens from falling victim to scams. According to multiple police reports, the scammers deliberately keep the victims engaged for hours. Of course, they use secrecy techniques like “don’t tell anyone, it could be someone you know”.

Besides this, all the scammers remain too talkative, leaving no room for the victim to ask frequent questions. They constantly induce fear to override rational thinking. That’s why many people say it’s just like hypnosis, as it creates similar effects. Victims keep obeying the instructions without questioning. They don’t even realize anything bad until they have been robbed.

It leaves the victim confused and helpless. So, everyone using bitcoin ATMs should be aware of the warning signs. Professionals never prevent you from taking time to research the issue, but scammers try to rush everything.