Scammers notched $333 million from bitcoin ATM scams in 2025, FBI says
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said fraudsters in 2025 bilked Americans out of more than $333 million with ruses perpetrated using bitcoin ATM machines, a marked uptick over previous years as the popularity of cryptocurrencies continues to grow.
The new FBI statistics, which document fraudulent transactions using cryptocurrency kiosks, reflect a "clear and constant rise" that is "not slowing down," a bureau spokesperson told ABC News.
In 2024, scammers caused roughly $250 million in losses, more than double the figure from the previous year. From January through November 2025, that figure was $333.5 million, the bureau said.
There are more than 45,000 bitcoin ATMs nationwide that allow users to insert cash and send it to a digital wallet anywhere in the world. It takes only a few minutes, and once the transaction is executed, experts say, the money can be nearly impossible to recover -- making it an attractive method for prospective fraudsters.
"Requesting crypto is now the No. 1 preferred method of criminals," Amy Nofziger, AARP's director of fraud victim support, told ABC News in October. "It is a huge problem."
Authorities have taken notice. In September, the Washington, D.C., attorney general's office sued Athena Bitcoin, one of the largest bitcoin ATM machine purveyors in the country, accusing it of "pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars in undisclosed fees on the backs of scam victims."
The lawsuit claims 93% of the transactions on Athena's devices in the district "are the product of outright fraud," and that "the median age of victims was 71 years."
Athena forcefully denied those allegations in a statement to ABC News, asserting in part that it maintains "strong safeguards against fraud including transparent instructions, prominent warnings and consumer education."
"Just as a bank isn't held responsible if someone willingly sends funds to someone else, Athena does not control users' decisions," the statement said.
AARP has advocated for more stringent regulations to protect Americans from scams on bitcoin ATMs, like capping the amount of money a user can deposit in one day. At least 17 states have passed legislation in recent years regulating the machines, and some municipalities have moved to ban them outright.
