One thing the article leaves out: what to do if you already put money in. Call the number printed on the machine straight away. Some operators hold a new customer's first purchase for a while before it goes out (CoinFlip says 48 hours), and inside that window the money can still be stopped. After that, a bitcoin payment cannot be reversed.
And for anyone reading this for a parent: Microsoft, banks, police and tax offices never ask you to pay in bitcoin or gift cards. Anyone who does, and won't let you hang up, is the scam.
https://www.ksla.com/2026/10/20/how-you-can-protect-yourself-crypto-atm-scams/
Read the thread: https://briskness-byte.github.io/thread/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ksla.com%2F2026%2F10%2F20%2Fhow-you-can-protect-yourself-crypto-atm-scams%2F
