‘Consumers are losing their money’: Oklahoma AG sounds alarm on Bitcoin ATM scams

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — The Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General is warning state residents about scams involving Bitcoin ATMs.

According to the attorney general’s office. elderly Oklahomans are especially at risk of being taken advantage of through this deceptive activity.

Officials shared that once payments are made through Bitcoin ATM scams, the money is usually lost for good—so members of the public need to be on their guard.

Sharon Lewis, who leads fraud prevention efforts at the Oklahoma Bankers Association, urged consumers to pay attention to the attorney general’s warning.

“I just really am concerned with the way consumers are losing their money, and that bothers me. A lot. And I would like to get the message out,” she explained.

Lewis noted that no legitimate organization or individual would ask a customer to withdraw his or her money from a bank and deposit it into a cryptocurrency ATM.

While the issue isn’t new, Lewis asserted it has exploded in severity in the past six months.

Other cyber experts are also monitoring this trend, including Dave Moore, CISSP, who founded the Oklahoma-based Internet Safety Group.

“It sounds crazy when you first hear about it, but it’s not so crazy when you’re the one standing out there shoving… thousands of dollars worth of cash into a Bitcoin machine, and then you have the, ‘oh no’ moment,” he argued.

According to Lewis, scammers across the world are targeting Oklahoma because cryptocurrency ATMs are unregulated in the state—as is the case in many states across the U.S.

Moore added that scammers can even fake caller IDs to look more convincing.

“These scammers are… very convincing, and they encourage these customers to lie to their financial institution about what the purpose of the funds is,” Lewis shared.

After receiving an email, text, call, or popup message online saying to withdraw cash and deposit it into a Bitcoin ATM—or do any other suspicious activity—Lewis recommended that customers get in touch with their banks to see if it’s legitimate.

Cryptocurrency ATMS are usually located in gas stations, grocery stores, and malls.

Oklahoma residents who believe they have fallen victim to such a scam can contact the attorney general’s office at consumerprotection@oag.ok.gov or by calling 1-833-681-1895.