Australian Federal Police crack down on crypto ATM scams, 77-year-old victim loses about $280,000

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the Australian Federal Police have contacted over 90 Australians as part of an operation to combat cryptocurrency ATM crimes. One of the victims is a 77-year-old widow who was scammed out of 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 induced her to invest in Bitcoin by showing fake documents and claiming to earn AUD 13,000 in a week. Over 18 months, the victim transferred her entire life savings into a Bitcoin ATM.