The Financial Control Agency and the Federal Police of Australia warn that the scams that use ATMs are draining wallets throughout the country.
Between January 2024 and January 2025, 150 people submitted unique reports against report on Crypto automatic cash scamsand those losses exceeded $ 3.1 million (around US $ 2 million). Many older Australians are being attacked, and regulators are struggling to put safer rules in their place.
Operators face new transaction tapas
According to the Australian Report Analysis and Analysis Center (Austrac), A new rule now limits deposits and cash withdrawals in Crypto ATMs to $ 5,000 (around US $ 3,250). Operators must also present clear scam warning signals, monitor each transaction more closely and increase customer controls.
Image: AML Intelligence
These measures began on June 3. At this time, they only apply to ATM suppliers, but Austrac says that encryption exchanges should think about doing the same if they allow people to use cash to buy crypto.
The Austrac CEO, Brendan Thomas, mentioned that these conditions will be observed closely and could change if they are not working as planned.
Seniors with greater risk
According to Austrac task force reports, most people who use cash to buy cryptography at ATMs are over 50 years old, and approximately 72% of the entire value of the transaction comes from this elderly group.
It is a great concern because many in their 60 and 70 years end as victims of scams. Scammers often tell them to send money to a cryptographic automatic cashier to “try” an investment or to recover stolen funds.
Many victims do not even realize that they have been scammed until it is too late. That is partly why Austrac wants stronger “Know your client” Check directly in the kiosk.
Public reports remain low
The AFP commander, Graeme Marshall, says that many people who lose money do not report it. Sometimes they feel too embarrassed. Other times, they just don’t know how to get help. Marshall encouraged anyone who has been scammed to tell their family and friends.
People need to share what happened so that others do not fall into the same trap. At this time, with 150 reports registered for 12 months, the Federal Police of Australia (AFP) think that these numbers are scratching the surface. They believe that many more scams are happening without being recorded.
Image: MakeUseOf
Growing number of ATMs
Australia used to have very few cryptographic automatic ATMs, only 67 in August 2022. But by June 2025, that number had exploded to almost 1,820. That makes Australia the third largest market for these machines in the world.
In a single year, almost 150,000 cash -based transactions were made, moving approximately $ 275 million (approximately US $ 178 million) in Bitcoin, Ether and several stable. Private companies at home (753 machines), Coinflip (700) and Bitcoin Depot (182) lead the package.
With more ATMs appear, there are more possibilities for scammers to deceive people, especially if operators are not watching closely.
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