California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ordered cryptocurrency ATM operator Coinflip to reimburse local scam victims more than $4.8 million, according to a ChainCatcher report published on November 9, 2026. The order also requires Coinflip to pay the regulator more than $350,000 in unlawfully collected excess fees and stop the violations.
The action covers approximately 500 Coinflip machines operating in California.
Findings behind the order
According to the report, the investigation found that, since 2021, Coinflip had failed to adequately identify users and effectively detect, prevent, report and mitigate suspicious activity.
Transactions also exceeded California’s daily customer limit of $1,000. Other problems included a failure to provide written disclosures before purchases and incomplete information on receipts.
How the scams worked
DFPI said scammers impersonated trusted institutions and falsely claimed that victims’ accounts or computers had problems. They then persuaded victims to withdraw cash and transfer funds through nearby cryptocurrency ATMs.
When victims scanned a QR code to buy cryptocurrency, the funds went to scammers’ wallets. The regulator said older adults were particularly vulnerable to these schemes.
The source headline identifies the case as involving Bitcoin ATM scam victims, while the report’s transaction details refer to cryptocurrency more broadly. It does not specify which assets were transferred or provide evidence of an effect on Bitcoin’s market outlook.
Original source: ChainCatcher, published November 9, 2026, at 12:37:48 (UTC+8). The supplied report does not specify the date the order was issued.