FinCEN warns of rising bitcoin ATM scams

Security

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August 8, 2025

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has put out a warning about the growth of bitcoin ATM scams. In particular it is asking financial institutions to “be vigilant in identifying and reporting suspicious activity involving convertible virtual currency kiosks,” according to the FinCEN notice.

The notice brings up that the FBI received more than 10,956 complaints of losses of around $246.7 million from bitcoin ATM scams.

“This represents a 99% increase in the number of complaints and a 31% increase in reported victim losses from 2023. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) likewise identified, based on an analysis of consumer reports, that fraud losses through CVC kiosks have skyrocketed,” the notice states.

FinCEN also notes that some crypto ATMs have been used for money laundering. It offers several red flags for scams and illegal activities at bitcoin ATMs such as:

• Customers send multiple payments directly below the suspicious activity reporting level.
• A new customer makes a large deposit.
• Multiple accounts are linked to the same wallet address.
• An elderly customer makes a large deposit at a bitcoin ATM.
• The ATM is not registered with the FinCEN.
• The ATM doesn’t require identification other than a phone number or an email address.

FinCEN informs financial institutions to reference the notice when filing a suspicious activity report regarding crypto ATMs.