Australian federal police have reached out to over 90 Australians in a crackdown on crypto ATM criminal use, revealing a 77-year-old widow lost 433,000 Australian dollars ($281,947) to an online dating scam. The widow, unaware of her scammer's deceit, was led to invest in Bitcoin through fake documents. Over 18 months, she withdrew large sums from ATMs, often carrying 20,000 Australian dollars in cash. She expressed the profound regret of telling her daughter about her lost life savings. Other victims include a woman in her 70s who lost over $200,000 due to a misleading trading advertisement. During the police operation, law enforcement found that many suspected scam victims were manipulated into using crypto ATMs, with implications of illicit activities. AUSTRAC, Australia's financial intelligence agency, reported significant losses from crypto ATM scams, prompting warnings against guaranteed profits and high-pressure tactics. The crackdown follows new regulatory measures aimed at combating crypto scams in Australia, where crypto ATMs rank third globally in number, with 1,871 machines present.

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