Crypto ATM Scams Hit $333M in the U.S. as AI Deepfakes Fuel Fraud

Crypto ATM fraud losses in the United States reached US$333 million (AU$470 million) in the first 11 months of 2025, as complaints to the FBI rose 33% and scammers increasingly used AI deepfakes to target victims through more than 30,000 kiosks nationwide.

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center logged more than 12,000 reports linked to crypto ATM fraud, with losses doubling each year since 2022, rising from US$78 million (AU$110 million) to US$114 million (AU$161 million) in 2023 and about US$250 million (AU$353 million) in 2024. 

An FBI spokesperson said the increase has been steady and shows no sign of slowing.

Older Americans have borne most of the damage. People aged 60 and over accounted for more than 85% of reported kiosk-related losses, with the median victim age at 71. Scammers often spoof local phone numbers and use the names of real law enforcement officers to gain trust.

Related: Mastercard Expands Crypto Push With New Network Integrating Binance and Ripple

AI Deepfakes Supercharge Scam Operations

As if it wasn’t bad enough already, researchers at CertiK said AI tools made the scams more effective in 2025, with AI-enabled operations generating 4.5 times more profit than traditional methods (a single search on social media about deepfake videos is enough to scare you). 

Criminals used real-time deepfake audio and video, along with data scraped from social media, to imitate trusted contacts and tailor approaches more convincingly. That has made government impersonation, romance scams and tech support fraud harder to detect.

AARP said crypto has become the preferred payment method for many criminals because transfers are fast and difficult to reverse. CertiK also reported a shift from isolated scammers to transnational organised networks using corporate-style divisions of labour to scale ATM-based fraud.

Lawmakers and regulators have started to respond. Senator Dick Durbin introduced the Crypto ATM Fraud Prevention Act in February 2025. 

The bill would require operators to register with the Treasury Department, display clear fraud warnings, provide live customer support during business hours, and issue receipts with traceable transaction details. It would also cap transactions at US$2,000 (AU$2.8K) per day and US$10,000 (AU$14K) during a customer’s first 14 days.

Related: Aussie Crypto Payments Challenger KAST Raises $80M as It Targets the US Market

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