U.S. CFTC Warns of Crypto ATM Scams, Reports Over $388 Million in Losses in 2025

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The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued a warning about the increasing number of crypto market scams targeting crypto ATMs. According to the FBI’s IC3, losses from these scams in 2025 exceeded $388 million, a 58% increase from 2024. Scammers often impersonate government agencies, banks, or tech support to trick victims into sending money via crypto ATMs, gift cards, or unverified apps. The CFTC emphasized that legitimate institutions will never request payments through these methods and advised the public to verify any suspicious requests through official channels and report them to the CFTC or FBI IC3. Crypto analysis experts stress the importance of remaining vigilant as these scams become more prevalent.

Huo Xing Finance reports that, according to a notice from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), scammers are frequently impersonating government agencies, banks, investment firms, utility companies, or technical support personnel to trick victims into transferring funds via cryptocurrency ATMs, gift cards, unfamiliar apps, or courier services, exploiting the irreversible nature of transactions and the difficulty of tracing wallet addresses to carry out fraud. Data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) shows that reported losses from cryptocurrency ATM scams in 2025 exceeded $388 million, a 58% increase from the previous year; actual losses may be even higher due to underreporting. The CFTC states that legitimate government agencies, financial institutions, and businesses will never ask users to transfer assets via cryptocurrency ATMs, gift cards, or courier services; if someone pressures you to act immediately citing “urgent risks to your account or identity,” demands secrecy, requests remote access to your device, or instructs you to send funds to a specified wallet address or QR code, these are high-risk warning signs. Regulatory authorities advise users to halt all transactions, independently verify information through official channels, and promptly report suspicious scams to the CFTC or FBI IC3.

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