Source: Radio New Zealand
Several scams involved people depositing money through cryptocurrency ATMs. RNZ / Paris Ibell
A woman who withdrew $31,500 from her bank account and gave it to a scammer is one of two recent cases that have sparked a warning from the Banking Ombudsman about cryptocurrency ATMs.
Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden said she had investigated several scam cases where people had deposited money through the ATMs.
Crypto ATMs allow people to deposit cash and buy cryptocurrency, which is sent to a digital wallet. Transactions usually happen quickly and cannot easily be stopped or reversed once completed.
Sladden said it made them risky when used under pressure or at someone else’s direction.
She highlighted two cases, in which she said people believed they were following legitimate instructions but lost large amounts of money.
In April last year, a woman responded to a job ad online and, following instructions, went to her bank and withdrew $31,500, telling the teller it was for a car.
She put the money into a cryptocurrency wallet via a crypto ATM but later realised she had been scammed and asked the bank to reimburse her. She said it should have noticed her anxious and unusual behaviour.
The ombudsman scheme said it had to decide whether there was anything that should have caused the bank to suspect a scam.
“A bank must follow a customer’s transaction instructions unless it detects – or should have detected – warning signs of a possible scam. If it detects such warning signs, it must make inquiries about the transaction and, if warranted, warn the customer about the possibility of a scam before processing the transaction.”
It said there was nothing about what the customer told the bank that should have indicated a problem.
In another case, a man lost $65,000. He authorised payments to cryptocurrency merchants and withdrew cash from ATMs that he deposited in a crypto ATM.
The bank refused to reimburse him, saying he had authorised the payments.
Sladden said obvious red flags included requests to keep payments secret or give false information to a bank.
“People should independently verify who they are dealing with, and talk to someone they trust before making large or unusual payments.
“It’s important to stop and ask questions before taking any steps that might result in the loss of money.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
