Victims of romance and investment scams have poured more than $2.5 million into cryptocurrency ATMs across Tasmania in recent years.
Detective Sergeant Paul Turner from Tasmania Police’s Cyber Investigations Unit said victims lost an average of $165,000 each, with one person losing over $750,000.
The figures come from an investigation in April, when police visited victims who had been manipulated into sending money through cryptocurrency ATMs, commonly known as CATMs.
“We identified that of the top 15 users of those CATMs within Tasmania, all of those persons depositing large amounts of funds were victims of some type of scam,” Detective Sergeant Turner said.
The victims, who were mostly around 65-years-old, were typically targeted through romance scams promising relationships or fake investment schemes offering returns of 30–40%.
The number of cryptocurrency ATMs in Tasmania has grown from just one in 2015 to 21 in 2025, giving scammers another way to drain money from unsuspecting people.
The machines, which look similar to regular cash ATMs, allow people to buy and sell cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Detective Sergeant Turner said scammers usually make contact through phone calls, emails or social media and then move conversations to encrypted messaging apps to avoid detection.
“The victims we found were manipulated, they were threatened, they were intimidated to go to the ATMs to deposit money,” he said.
“Once that cash has gone in that machine, it’s gone unless you know where it’s going.”
One victim lost more than $750,000 after first falling for an investment scam, then being recontacted by scammers pretending they had recovered his money – but he needed to pay ‘fees’ to get it back.
All victims suffered “lifelong impacts”, financially and mentally, with some forced to delay retirement, sell off assets or rely on social services just to get by.
Police are urging families to look out for red flags, such as relatives visiting the same crypto ATM regularly, withdrawing large sums of cash from the bank or struggling to pay for essentials like food or utilities.
The federal government is now working on new compliance measures, including limiting deposits to crypto ATMs to $5,000 at a time, something police hope will help curb scam activity.
The New Zealand Government this week announced it intends to ban crypto ATMs in the coming months to close a loophole for money laundering and terrorist financing.
Detective Sergeant Turner said anyone who is contacted by someone they don’t know and asked for money to be sent via crypto ATMs should “stop and think”, as it is almost certainly a scam.
He said anyone with concerns should report suspected scams to police straight away.
“If you’re asked to deposit into a crypto ATM, it’s likely a scam,” Turner said.
“If the offer or the request is made with some level of urgency or intimidation or threats or if you’re simply promised higher returns for your money, it’s likely a scam.”
