Detective sends warning about crypto machines
Kiosk ATMs allow people to put cash into the machine and receive some kind of cryptocurrency. But crypto ATMs are used for fraud 99.5% of the time, warns Berkeley County Sheriff’s Detective Jeremy Maurer.
Further, in Maurer’s opinion, there’s no legitimate business purpose for these machines, especially because some charge fees of around 30% per transaction.
Maurer says there are 30,000 crypto ATMs in the United States — largely utilized by scammers operating outside the United States. A majority of scams currently originate from massive scam compounds in Southeast Asia.
“You can’t believe the size of the scam compounds that are on the ground in Southeast Asia,” says Erin West, founder of Operation Shamrock. “I went over to see for myself, and they are like college campuses. They are like Silicon Valley campuses. We’re talking about 35 buildings. We’re talking about massive dormitories full of scammers that are closed in with cement walls so people can’t leave. We’ve never seen a crime business like this that is so well established.”
“We’re talking about tens of billions of dollars leaving the United States,” West says. “A generation’s worth of wealth being transferred into the hands of criminals.”
Full article and video: ‘They’re used for fraud’: Berkeley County detective sends warning on crypto machines