Crypto ATM Scams Take More Than $4.6 Million Across Wyoming Cities

Law enforcement and consumer advocates say criminals have exploited cryptocurrency ATMs to steal millions from Wyoming residents, draining cash in schemes that leave few traces and scant hope of recovery. Cowboy State Daily reported that more than $4.6 million was siphoned from three of the state’s largest cities, $3 million of which was in Gillette alone.

The scam follows a familiar script. Callers pose as trusted authorities and pressure victims to feed cash into a crypto ATM and transmit cryptocurrency to the caller’s wallet. Once funds move, they are routed through dozens of accounts, “dividing and subdividing” to form a virtual smokescreen that makes tracing difficult without extensive forensic accounting, Cowboy State Daily reported. The paper added that “the machines themselves are legal devices, but they have been co-opted by criminals, who have found in them the ideal, virtual getaway car.”

Local law enforcement gave city-by-city totals and case counts during recent briefings and an AARP Wyoming legislative preview webinar. Gillette and Campbell County reported the largest single-city losses. Detective Alan Stuber said more than $3 million was lost in Campbell County in 2025 and that “we’ve taken in 75 to 100 cases in the last year.” Stuber said the fraud shifted from gift cards to crypto ATMs after merchants limited large gift-card purchases: “You get a call, they (scammers) make threats, whether it is a city bill, or a warrant for your arrest. It used to be gift cards, but we’ve pretty well shut that down in Campbell County. Our stores aren’t letting people buy thousands of dollars’ worth of gift cards anymore. Now, it is these machines.”

Cheyenne police reported significant losses as well. Sgt. Kevin Malatesta said crypto ATMs "were involved in at least $600,000 worth of scams in Cheyenne during 2025." Photographs in local reporting show a Bitcoin Depot ATM inside Loaf 'N Jug stores on East Lincolnway and Randall Avenue in Cheyenne.

Sheridan officials described an extended pattern of losses. Officer Liz Shafer reported "$1.5 million in losses over a two-year period ending in the fall of 2025, with not a single dollar recovered." Shafer added, “Scammers use these methods because that money cannot be retrieved. We’re having some success with cash that’s been mailed, because we can intercept that. But if you put it into a crypto ATM, that money is gone.”

AARP Wyoming puts the scale of the machines in context, estimating approximately 45 crypto ATMs statewide and 11 in Cheyenne. Tom Lacock, AARP Wyoming associate state director, urged victims to report incidents and speak up: “When citizens get scammed, we know they tend not to report the scam because they don’t think they can get their money back, or they are embarrassed. The reality is these are professional thieves who are experts in separating people from their money. There is no need to be embarrassed, and talking about the scam might prevent our friends and families from experiencing the same loss.”

Reported totals do not fully align across outlets and timeframes. The summed local figures for Gillette, Cheyenne and Sheridan equal $5.1 million, while the Cowboy State Daily total is $4.6 million. Officials and advocates note differences in reporting windows, jurisdictional coverage and unreported cases could account for the gap.

For Albany County residents the immediate effects are financial and practical - an increase in local fraud complaints, pressure on police investigative resources, and limited prospects for recovering lost cash. The wider policy implications include questions for state and local elected officials about registration and oversight of crypto ATM operators, merchant practices, and public education. After the AARP webinar, attention is likely to shift toward whether lawmakers will seek clearer rules for operators or new reporting requirements for suspicious transactions.

What comes next: law enforcement and consumer groups want more victims to report incidents so patterns are visible, and legislators were briefed on the problem. For now, community awareness and timely reporting remain the most direct tools for slowing the trend and prompting institutional action.