The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued a “Pause Before You Pay” consumer warning that demands to move money through public crypto ATMs—especially from callers posing as government or bank officials—should be treated as a strong fraud indicator, or “Probably a Scam.” The alert follows FBI data showing Americans’ losses from such schemes rose 58% over the past year to more than $388 million, including 13,460 cryptocurrency kiosk complaints in 2025, with more than half of cases involving people over 50 and losses exceeding $302 million. Scammers create urgency, push victims to withdraw cash, scan a provided QR code and send irreversible crypto, often while staying on the line. Parallel market pressure has accelerated: Bitcoin Depot filed for bankruptcy in May and disconnected about 9,700 terminals after revenue fell under mandatory verification rules; Delaware and New Jersey tightened crypto ATM laws in June; the global crypto ATM count fell by nearly one-third in July with 10,836 machines removed, 10,380 of them in the United States; and Minnesota ordered a full public-terminal ban with removals by year-end. The CFTC reiterates that no legitimate agency, bank or major company will require payment via crypto ATM or gift cards.