A story

Roger, 70, gets a call from his “bank's security department”. He's told his savings are at risk and he must “convert them to a secure form”. He's directed to a convenience store in his neighbourhood: “There's a machine at the back. Press the green button.”

On the phone, the man guides him: choose “buy”, scan a QR code sent to him by message, feed in the bills one by one. Six minutes later a receipt prints. “Perfect, you're safe.” That evening he learns his money is now in a wallet he'll never see.

A fictional story inspired by real cases. Names and details are invented.

How it works

1. Call

   A fake bank employee, police officer or government official tells you your money is at risk.

2. Urgency and secrecy

   You're pressed to act right away and to say nothing to family or bank staff.

3. Crypto ATM

   You're directed to a Bitcoin ATM. In the United States, people aged 60 and over reported US$2.8 billion in crypto-related scam losses across all scam types in 2024 (FBI data cited by Chainalysis).

4. QR code

   You're sent a QR code to scan. It contains the scammers' wallet address: the money you insert is converted to crypto and sent straight to them.

5. No way back

   The transaction is confirmed within minutes and can't be reversed.

If it happens to you

• Hang up and call your bank back with the number on your card.
• If you already used the machine: keep the receipt and the QR code, and note the time and location of the machine.
• Contact the machine's operator (details on the machine or receipt) and the police.
• Report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (1-888-495-8501).

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Read next

Source: Chainalysis, “2026 Crypto Crime Report: Scams”, January 13, 2026 ↗