How Fran Bates Was Tricked at a Bitcoin ATM

A senior man using a Bitcoin ATM kiosk

Fran Bates thought she was protecting her money. A caller had convinced her that her bank account was in danger, and that the safest move was to withdraw cash and feed it into a Bitcoin ATM.

ABC News reported that in June 2024, Bates, an 85-year-old in the Fort Worth area, went into a gas station while still on the phone with the scammer. She was in the process of putting more than $23,000 into the kiosk when police intervened. The machine was not protecting her money. It was sending cryptocurrency to a scammer’s wallet.

This kind of scam works because the caller creates fear first. They may claim to be from a bank, government agency, tech support, or a company like Amazon. Then they say your money is at risk and tell you to “move” it somewhere safe.

The FTC is blunt about this pattern: no real business or government agency will send you to a Bitcoin ATM to protect money, fix an account problem, or avoid trouble. Once cash is converted to cryptocurrency and sent away, it is very hard to recover.

5 Things You Can Learn From Fran Bates’s Bitcoin ATM Scam

1.

A Bitcoin ATM Is Not a Safety Vault

The scammer used the machine as a one-way payment tool.

How to Protect Yourself

  • Do not deposit cash into a crypto kiosk because someone on the phone tells you to.
  • If money is supposedly at risk, call your bank using the number on your card.

2.

Urgency Is Part of the Trick

The caller wanted Bates to stay scared and keep moving.

How to Protect Yourself

  • Hang up when someone pressures you to act immediately.
  • Talk to one trusted person before moving money.

3.

Caller ID Cannot Prove Who Is Calling

A scammer can pretend to be a bank or agency.

How to Protect Yourself

  • Do not use phone numbers the caller gives you.
  • Go through the official app, statement, or website.

4.

Crypto Payments Are Hard to Reverse

That is why scammers like them.

How to Protect Yourself

  • Treat crypto, wire, gift card, and cash pickup demands as danger signs.
  • Call your bank before withdrawing large cash amounts.

5.

A Pause Can Save the Money

In this case, intervention mattered before the cash was gone.

How to Protect Yourself

  • Leave the store or step away from the kiosk if you feel rushed.
  • Ask staff or local police for help if someone is directing you by phone.

Final Takeaway: Urgency Is the Weapon, Not the Warning

Fran Bates was not careless with money. She was told there was an emergency and given no time to think, which is exactly the state a scammer needs. The habit that protects you is not moving faster. It is treating any demand for immediate cash or crypto as the moment to stop and call someone you trust.

Sources & References

Keep learning with Lumoset’s free course, Spot the Scam – Level 2: Money Fraud, Gift Cards, Wires, Crypto Kiosks.

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Image credit: Amaury Sechet (CC0 1.0).

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