Texas sheriffs used power tools this week in retrieving $32,000 from a Bitcoin ATM after a Jasper County family said they were scammed out of funds, according to local law enforcement. 

The family said it had lost $25,000 to the fraudsters.

An image shared by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook shows sparks flying as an official uses what appears to be a circular saw to crack into a Bitcoin Depot kiosk. Other images show stacks of hundred dollar bills, evidence bags, and a gas station on a rural road.

Jasper County Sheriff Chuck Havard told Decrypt that he’s “quite certain our boys have gotten into them before” but declined to comment on whether it was the first time that authorities had used force to retrieve funds from machines that are frequently used by scammers.

“Do not give any personal information out to anybody that claims to be a law enforcement agency or a government entity, unless you verify the validity of that,” Havard said.

Crypto ATMs allow people to convert cash into Bitcoin, and in 2024, Americans over 60 years old reported $107 million in Bitcoin ATM-related losses, according to an annual FBI report. Criminals often impersonate tech support workers or government employees, the FBI found.

“When thieves, low-lifes and scammers attempt to take advantage of the citizens of Jasper County, we will work swiftly and utilize every resource at our disposal to protect our citizens and their property at all costs,” the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office said in the post.

Bitcoin Depot says that over a dozen compliance personnel, alongside “robust transaction monitoring systems,” as well as know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering programs, according to a shareholder presentation published earlier this year. The firm says it has facilitated $3 billion worth of transactions across 8,400 kiosks in North America.

“I’ve only ever seen a few people use it,” a worker at the gas station where the Bitcoin ATM is located, who asked not to be named, told Decrypt, adding that it’s been there for at least a year, well before the business’s current owner took over the store.

A Bitcoin Depot spokesperson told Decrypt that the firm "regularly collaborates with investigators to clarify when recovery may be possible," adding that "such efforts typically involve the receiving wallet provider or exchange, not the kiosk itself."

"We actively support and educate law enforcement agencies, particularly those less familiar with cryptocurrencies."

One commentator on the sheriff office’s post commended authorities for “taking care of business,” while another lamented that “the owner of the bitcoin ATM is out the money and a damaged machine.”

Although some progressive lawmakers have called for greater restrictions on people’s ability to use ATMs, some conservatives have proposed putting them within federal buildings.

Local authorities said on Facebook that they received a search warrant before finding inside what appeared to be the victim’s money. In total, authorities said they retrieved $31,900, and while they have the victim’s cash, they are still trying to locate the scammers online.

Edited by James Rubin