§ 01The brief
Over six weeks the client withdrew cash from his savings and brokerage and fed it into crypto ATMs at several locations, sending the Bitcoin to a QR code the 'bank' gave him.
§ 02What I did
- 1.
Collected every ATM receipt and matched each one to a transaction on-chain.
- 2.
Traced the Bitcoin to one regulated exchange that received $137,000 and a private cluster that held the rest.
- 3.
Filed the CCS report and a complaint to the ATM operator, and sent the exchange the tracing report through law enforcement.
§ 03The outcome
The exchange froze $137,000. The ATM operator refunded $22,000 in fees. The rest could not be reached.