Nearly 1800 crypto ATMs drain elderly Australians of life savings
Australia's 1800 crypto ATMs process nearly 72 percent of their flow from people over 50, many victims of scams.
Australia has more than 1800 crypto ATMs, the third-largest network in the world. Seven years ago, AUSTRAC counted just 23.
Today, a retiree can convert cash to cryptocurrency at a tobacconist or service station within minutes, using only a phone number and photo ID. No bank account.
No questions. Fees run to 18 percent, far above the 1 percent charged by online exchanges.
People over 50 account for nearly 72 per cent of the $275 million flowing annually through these machines. When police tracked the 90 heaviest users last year, about 85 per cent of their transactions were linked to scams or money laundering.
A woman in her 70s lost more than $430,000 to a romance scam that became an investment scam. A 72-year-old pensioner lost her life savings of $12,500 after a fake Microsoft alert told her to feed cash into a machine.
The government is preparing to restrict or ban crypto ATMs under new anti-money-laundering laws.
- More than 1800
- Crypto ATMs in Australia
- $275 million
- Annual flow through ATMs
- Nearly 72 percent
- From people over 50
- Up to 18 percent
- Fee rate at machines
Why it mattersCrypto ATMs have become a tool scammers use to move stolen money faster than banks can stop it, targeting the elderly with high fees and no oversight.
AustraliaAustralians, especially retirees, face growing scam risk from crypto ATMs in suburban shopping centres; government may restrict or ban them.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
