Crypto kiosks are physical machines that let people buy cryptocurrency with cash or debit. Scammers use them because they feel unfamiliar, urgent, and difficult to reverse.

A typical script sounds like this:

• there is a legal or financial emergency
• your money is unsafe where it is
• you must convert it to crypto
• scan this QR code or send it to this wallet

That entire chain is the scam. Legitimate banks, government agencies, and law enforcement do not tell people to protect money by turning it into cryptocurrency.

A quick example: a text claims to be from your bank and tells you to call a number. The “fraud specialist” says thieves are inside your account and the fastest way to protect your money is to withdraw cash and feed it into a nearby crypto kiosk. That is not protection. That is the theft itself.

This level is meant to help you act even if the method is new to you. You do not need to understand every detail of cryptocurrency to know that unexpected pressure to use it is a major warning sign.

What to do:

• Never buy crypto to fix a supposed account problem.
• Never scan a QR code sent by an unexpected caller or texter for money purposes.
• If someone says crypto is the only safe path, stop the conversation.

This lesson is part of Spot the Scam from Lumoset Foundation, Fort Wayne, Indiana – free, always, with no account and no catch.