- Tasmanians lost AU$1.5 million through crypto ATM scams in just three months after being pressured by fraudsters to deposit cash.
- Police say common schemes include fake investments, romance scams, recovery fraud, bogus government payments, tech support and job scams.
- The losses have continued despite cash limits, mandatory scam warnings and stronger customer due diligence requirements introduced by AUSTRAC.
The police are warning Tasmanians to be vigilant when it comes to cryptocurrency ATMs. According to a report from late September, Tasmanians have been scammed out of AU$1.5 million in the past three months. The funds had been deposited by Tasmanians after they were pressured by scammers to do so.
That’s despite the island state having fewer than 30 such machines. Police said the number has grown from just one cryptocurrency ATM in 2021. For context, the whole of Australia has close to 2,000 machines.
This isn’t the first warning from Tasmania Police. In 2025, they looked at the state’s 15 highest-value crypto ATM users and found no legitimate activity among them. All 15 were connected to scams, with AU$900,000 going through crypto ATMs and AU$2.5 million in total losses.
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Manipulation and Intimidation
Detective Sergeant Paul Turner explained that one of the biggest red flags is when people are “being asked to deposit cash into a cryptocurrency ATM by someone you have only met online or spoken to over the phone”.
He said scammers use manipulation and intimidation, with cases involving “fake investment opportunities and online romance scams”.
Other scams can involve recovery scams – in which scammers pretend they can help recover previously lost funds – as well as government or utility payment scams, fake tech support scams and even job scams, Tasmania Police said.
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The latest losses come despite operators facing cash limits, mandatory scam warnings and enhanced customer due diligence requirements. In September 2025, AUSTRAC introduced new measures it hoped would “reduce their exposure to money laundering, terrorism financing and other serious financial crimes”.
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