That’s made them the payment method of choice for online scammers and other kinds of cybercriminals.
Bitcoin ATMs take things a step further by giving the average person easy access to crypto.
The terminals found in gas stations, stores and other busy locations.
That’s where the Bitcoin ATMs come in.
Sometimes they’ll even refer to the ATMs as “safety lockers,” the FTC says.
They’ll text the victim a QR code to scan at the machine.
Individual losses from these kinds of scams are often steep.
Ignore unsolicited emails.This goes for text, messages sent through social media and phone calls too.
Instead, call your bank or credit card company directly.
It’s almost always a scammer.
Even if you think it might be a legitimate communication, make some calls before you take action.
Crypto payment requests are scams.Legitimate companies and financial institutions will never ask for payment in the form of crypto.
And government officials will never ask you to move money to a crypto wallet to keep it safe.
If someone tells you to do either of those things they’re a scammer.
On a related note, requests for payment in the form of gift cards are undoubtedly scams, too.
Report scam messages.Most email programs have buttons that let you report spam or phishing.
Scam text messages can be reported by forwarding them to 7726 (SPAM).
