TLDR
California ordered Coinflip to pay more than $4.8 million to bitcoin ATM scam victims.
Coinflip must also pay the state regulator over $350,000 in illegally charged fees.
Regulators said some transactions went over California’s $1,000 daily customer limit.
People 60 and older made up about 71% of reported kiosk scam losses in early 2024.
Arizona, Alabama and Ohio have also acted to help crypto ATM scam victims get money back.
California’s financial regulator has ordered bitcoin ATM operator Coinflip to pay more than $4.8 million to scam victims in the state. The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced the order on Nov. 4 and described the payments as full compensation.
The company must also pay the DFPI more than $350,000 in fees that the regulator said were illegally charged. Coinflip runs about 500 kiosks across California.
The order comes as several states push crypto ATM operators to return money to fraud victims, many of them older adults. Arizona, Alabama and Ohio have each taken steps this year to help people recover lost funds.
What California Found
Investigators said that since 2021, Coinflip failed to properly identify its users. The company also failed to detect, prevent, report and reduce suspicious activity, according to the DFPI.
The regulator said these failures let scammers take advantage of customers and drain their assets. Some transactions went over California’s $1,000 daily limit per customer.
The DFPI also found that Coinflip did not give written disclosures before purchases. Some receipts were incomplete.
JUST IN: Crypto ATM operator CoinFlip has been ordered to pay over $4.8 MILLION to scam victims in California.
California’s DFPI also ordered the company to refund more than $350,000 in excessive fees.
An investigation found that CoinFlip failed to properly verify customer…
— Coinlive (@CoinliveHQ) November 9, 2026
The agency cited the Digital Financial Assets Law, which regulates crypto businesses and sets rules for kiosks. It also pointed to federal anti-money laundering rules and the California Consumer Financial Protection Law.
“Robust anti-fraud and consumer-protection practices are a requirement of doing business in California, not a suggestion,” said DFPI Commissioner KC Mohseni. The order also requires Coinflip to stop unlawful, unfair, deceptive or abusive practices.
Coinflip’s machines in California are usually found in grocery stores, gas stations and convenience stores. The DFPI said kiosk transactions are immediate, cannot be reversed and are hard for consumers to trace.
Scammers often pose as government agencies, businesses or tech support staff. They send fake warnings about suspicious activity or computer security problems, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Victims are then pushed to withdraw cash and put it into a nearby kiosk. A QR code supplied by the scammer sends the purchased bitcoin straight to the fraudster’s wallet.
In the first half of 2024, these impersonation schemes made up about 86% of kiosk fraud loss reports. People aged 60 and older accounted for about 71% of reported losses involving the machines in that period.
Other States Push for Refunds
Arizona secured full refunds for 35 crypto ATM victims, totaling $171,332, in an announcement on Aug. 12. Its rules cover customers who had used an operator for fewer than 10 days and reported the fraud within 30 days with proof.
Alabama’s refund rules for crypto ATM scams took effect on Oct. 1. New customers who qualify can get back the full transaction amount plus fees, while existing customers can get half the value plus all fees. Both groups must report within 60 days.
In Ohio, investigators traced and froze $15,300 that was stolen through a crypto ATM in a fake Microsoft support scam. The 63-year-old victim got her money back on Oct. 8, after agents worked with the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office and obtained a search warrant.
The Coinflip order adds to California’s actions against other kiosk operators. The state has shut down Hermes Bitcoin and placed financial penalties on RockItCoin, Coinme and Coinhub, and the DFPI runs a Crypto Scam Tracker that takes consumer fraud complaints.
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