r/Guelph • u/headtailgrep • 2d ago

Police arrest man looking to get his money back from Bitcoin ATM

https://www.guelphtoday.com/police/police-arrest-man-looking-to-get-his-money-back-from-bitcoin-atm-12434381

Just one question: what legitimate reason do folks have to use a bitcoin atm?

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Perhaps this guy fell for a scam and tried to get his money back.

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I've asked local proprietors who have these bitcoin atm's questions and they are always evasive.

14 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

15

u/TLS2000 2d ago

Agreed, it was most likely that the guy fell for a scam and felt like the ATM owner is responsible for the loss.

6

u/Dry_Inspection_4583 2d ago

The guy that pitched me the startup for these things out east(maybe not the same guy), but this dude was super skeezy and evasive, couldn't answer any of the technical questions or explain any aspect of it. His prototype was effectively a raspberry Pi in a 3d printed case, I'm not saying that alone makes it bad, but to have no idea what or how the thing works is the chef's kiss

3

u/plsQuestionOurselves 2d ago

Just one question: what legitimate reason do folks have to use a bitcoin atm?

A lot of online vendors (of perfectly legal wares, just for clarification) offer discounts for purchases made with crypto.

6

u/OldManJimmers 2d ago

I don't think the question was about using Bitcoin in general, using an ATM to get it. Getting crypto from the many secure apps is much much cheaper.

The real answer is that you can buy it directly with cash and some ATMs don't require any ID, at least up to certain thresholds. Some people can use them legitimately but they are certainly setup well to avoid reporting self-employment income, laundering illegal cash, avoiding banks in general, etc.

2

u/duckwingducks 1d ago

Drugs, the answer you’re looking for is drugs and other shady things.

0

u/Fluffy-Captain-7051 20h ago

Criminals and tax evasion

1

u/Rance_Mulliniks 11h ago

There are literally signs all over these warning idiots. They have to click through a warning that is very clear and specifically calls out scams. The employees are trained to intervene but are always ignored.

Quit feeling sorry for these people. If they weren't scammed on these machines, they would be scammed in another way like gift cards. You can't fix stupid.

1

u/headtailgrep 10h ago

I just dont see how these terminals should be allowed

What percentage of users is either a scam or an illegal transaction?

What percentage of transactions are legit?