PANews reported on March 31 that according to Decrypt, Australia's financial crime regulator has "issued a notice" to cryptocurrency ATM operators, warning that many such machines may be helping criminals launder money or defraud victims. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (AUSTRAC) issued a statement on Monday saying that its cryptocurrency task force, established in December last year, has found "worrying trends and signs of suspicious activities" related to cryptocurrency ATMs, including links to scams and fraud. AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said: "We want to ensure that cryptocurrency ATM providers have sound operating regulations to minimize the risk of their machines being used for money laundering or scamming and defrauding innocent people.
Australia now has more than 1,648 cryptocurrency ATMs, the most in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Coin ATM Radar, up from just 23 in 2019, with 348 in Sydney alone. AUSTRAC’s warning comes as U.S. lawmakers race to increase regulation of cryptocurrency kiosks amid a surge in scams, many of which target elderly people.
