A Maine man is sharing his story after losing roughly $27,000 in a romance rip-off that relied closely on cryptocurrency transactions, hoping others can keep away from changing into victims themselves.”You might assume, oh, that is that is the best factor that is ever occurred to me,” mentioned Peter Service. “It isn’t. It is the worst factor that is ever going to occur to you. Simply get out.”Service, a person in his early 70s, informed 8 Investigates he believed he had discovered love after assembly a girl on Fb.The scammers posed as a single mom dwelling in Florida. Service was blindsided, in half, as a result of he was the one who initiated the dialog. Service mentioned he was conscious of the dangers related to assembly individuals on-line and thought he had finished his due diligence. “I sort of checked into totally different components of our relationship, you realize, simply to attempt to confirm, is that this actual?” he mentioned.The 2 started texting day by day. At first, the girl requested Service to ship her a present card so she might purchase her 9-year-old daughter a brand new online game. He agreed, however the requests quickly escalated.”She all the time mentioned, oh, you realize, we might do effectively collectively,” Service mentioned.Earlier than lengthy, she began asking him to assist her pay for repairs on her deceased father’s home. She informed him they may promote the renovated dwelling for a revenue and use the proceeds to journey collectively.”We will go right here, we will go there, you realize, it’s going to be nice,” Service recalled her saying. “I received sucked proper in.”Most of the cash was despatched by way of a bitcoin kiosk.“She mentioned, you realize, that is the easiest way to get cash to me quick,” Service mentioned.He searched on-line and located a kiosk about half-hour away, situated on the again of a laundromat in Lisbon Falls.Maine client protectionsBitcoin kiosks permit customers to deposit money, convert it into cryptocurrency, and both preserve the bitcoin or switch it to a different individual’s digital pockets.Linda Conti, superintendent of the Maine Bureau of Shopper Credit score Safety, mentioned cryptocurrency transactions permit scammers to obtain cash utterly anonymously. “You possibly can hint the transaction, however you by no means know who has the pockets,” Conti mentioned. Conti feels strongly that the majority transactions are the product of scams. “Do you pay the babysitter with bitcoin? Once you exit to dinner, do you pay the restaurant with bitcoin? Who do you pay?” Conti requested. “Individuals have mentioned, oh yeah, individuals use it for that, however I’ve by no means, ever in my life met anybody who takes bitcoin as cost for something.”The kiosk in Lisbon, which is owned by CoinFlip, is now not in service. Conti mentioned most, if not all, Bitcoin kiosks in Maine at the moment are out of operation. Maine just lately enacted rules aimed toward curbing losses tied to cryptocurrency ATM scams. The foundations cap charges at 3% of a transaction, restrict transactions to $1,000 per day and maintain firms answerable for losses.The Maine Bureau of Shopper Credit score Safety additionally reached a settlement with one operator, Bitcoin Depot, securing $1.9 million for distribution to rip-off victims.”Although they weren’t doing the scamming, they had been making 40% off of the rip-off,” Conti mentioned. “A big proportion of the big transactions had been being finished by individuals 70 years and older, in order that’s all the time a flag to us.” Tens of millions of dollars misplaced Along with romance scams, fraudsters additionally use impersonation scams and false funding schemes to persuade individuals to fork over thousands of dollars price of cryptocurrency. In accordance with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Web Crime Report, Individuals misplaced no less than $389 million in scams involving cryptocurrency ATMs in 2025. The whole losses enhance with every age group, with individuals 60 years and older experiencing essentially the most losses. Regulatory gapsRegulators and lawmakers proceed to grapple with find out how to oversee the quickly evolving cryptocurrency business. Most of the protections touted by Conti do not apply to cryptocurrency apps, leaving Mainers in danger of losing cash by way of bitcoin transactions on their telephones. In the meantime, federal regulators have given some cryptocurrency firms conditional belief charters, permitting these bitcoin platforms to function like banks. Conti says since banks are immune from sure state rules, this might finally permit some cryptocurrency firms to skirt the patron protections at present in place in Maine.8 Investigates contacted all 4 members of Maine’s congressional delegation for remark to see in the event that they’re engaged on any associated laws. A spokesperson for Rep. Chellie Pingree (D) shared a press release by way of electronic mail. “Whereas there may be at present no Home laws on this particular problem, I strongly help efforts just like the Senate Banking Democrats’ invoice, launched this week, to totally and robotically fund the Shopper Monetary Safety Bureau so it may well preserve doing its job: defending shoppers, cracking down on scammers, and holding unhealthy actors accountable.”A spokesperson for Sen. Susan Collins (R) mentioned she has lengthy prioritized client protections for seniors, together with by way of a brand new invoice referred to as the Senior Safety Act, however did not point out any initiatives with a selected deal with cryptocurrency. Rep. Jared Golden (D) and Sen. Angus King (I) didn’t reply to requests for remark. Shifting forwardWhen requested for remark, a spokesperson for CoinFlip wrote, “We had been saddened to listen to about this expertise, and we by no means need to revenue from sincere individuals being scammed. CoinFlip refunds transaction charges to victims in situations of fraud, and our staff is able to work with the client on that course of.”Service has not recovered any of the cash he misplaced. He was so embarrassed that he deleted all of the textual content messages and discarded receipts related to the transactions. He hopes others will not make the identical mistake. “It’s embarrassing, however you actually should not really feel embarrassed as a result of these individuals are slick,” Service mentioned. “Attempt to look previous that and get assist.”
![EUR/USD, XAU/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, Bitcoin and more [Video]](https://cryptonews100.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/bitcoin-explodes-02-120x86.jpg)
A Maine man is sharing his story after losing roughly $27,000 in a romance rip-off that relied closely on cryptocurrency transactions, hoping others can keep away from changing into victims themselves.
“You might assume, oh, that is that is the best factor that is ever occurred to me,” mentioned Peter Service. “It isn’t. It is the worst factor that is ever going to occur to you. Simply get out.”
Service, a person in his early 70s, informed 8 Investigates he believed he had discovered love after assembly a girl on Fb.
The scammers posed as a single mom dwelling in Florida. Service was blindsided, in half, as a result of he was the one who initiated the dialog.
Service mentioned he was conscious of the dangers related to assembly individuals on-line and thought he had finished his due diligence.
“I sort of checked into totally different components of our relationship, you realize, simply to attempt to confirm, is that this actual?” he mentioned.
The 2 started texting day by day. At first, the girl requested Service to ship her a present card so she might purchase her 9-year-old daughter a brand new online game. He agreed, however the requests quickly escalated.
“She all the time mentioned, oh, you realize, we might do effectively collectively,” Service mentioned.
Earlier than lengthy, she began asking him to assist her pay for repairs on her deceased father’s home. She informed him they may promote the renovated dwelling for a revenue and use the proceeds to journey collectively.
“We will go right here, we will go there, you realize, it’s going to be nice,” Service recalled her saying. “I received sucked proper in.”
Most of the cash was despatched by way of a bitcoin kiosk.
“She mentioned, you realize, that is the easiest way to get cash to me quick,” Service mentioned.
He searched on-line and located a kiosk about half-hour away, situated on the again of a laundromat in Lisbon Falls.
Maine client protections
Bitcoin kiosks permit customers to deposit money, convert it into cryptocurrency, and both preserve the bitcoin or switch it to a different individual’s digital pockets.
Linda Conti, superintendent of the Maine Bureau of Shopper Credit score Safety, mentioned cryptocurrency transactions permit scammers to obtain cash utterly anonymously.
“You possibly can hint the transaction, however you by no means know who has the pockets,” Conti mentioned.
Conti feels strongly that the majority transactions are the product of scams.
“Do you pay the babysitter with bitcoin? Once you exit to dinner, do you pay the restaurant with bitcoin? Who do you pay?” Conti requested. “Individuals have mentioned, oh yeah, individuals use it for that, however I’ve by no means, ever in my life met anybody who takes bitcoin as cost for something.”
The kiosk in Lisbon, which is owned by CoinFlip, is now not in service. Conti mentioned most, if not all, Bitcoin kiosks in Maine at the moment are out of operation.
Maine just lately enacted regulations aimed toward curbing losses tied to cryptocurrency ATM scams. The foundations cap charges at 3% of a transaction, restrict transactions to $1,000 per day and maintain firms answerable for losses.
The Maine Bureau of Shopper Credit score Safety additionally reached a settlement with one operator, Bitcoin Depot, securing $1.9 million for distribution to rip-off victims.
“Although they weren’t doing the scamming, they had been making 40% off of the rip-off,” Conti mentioned. “A big proportion of the big transactions had been being finished by individuals 70 years and older, in order that’s all the time a flag to us.”
Tens of millions of dollars misplaced
Along with romance scams, fraudsters additionally use impersonation scams and false funding schemes to persuade individuals to fork over thousands of dollars price of cryptocurrency.
In accordance with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Web Crime Report, Individuals misplaced no less than $389 million in scams involving cryptocurrency ATMs in 2025. The whole losses enhance with every age group, with individuals 60 years and older experiencing essentially the most losses.
Regulatory gaps
Regulators and lawmakers proceed to grapple with find out how to oversee the quickly evolving cryptocurrency business. Most of the protections touted by Conti do not apply to cryptocurrency apps, leaving Mainers in danger of losing cash by way of bitcoin transactions on their telephones.
In the meantime, federal regulators have given some cryptocurrency firms conditional belief charters, permitting these bitcoin platforms to function like banks. Conti says since banks are immune from sure state rules, this might finally permit some cryptocurrency firms to skirt the patron protections at present in place in Maine.
8 Investigates contacted all 4 members of Maine’s congressional delegation for remark to see in the event that they’re engaged on any associated laws.
A spokesperson for Rep. Chellie Pingree (D) shared a press release by way of electronic mail. “Whereas there may be at present no Home laws on this particular problem, I strongly help efforts just like the Senate Banking Democrats’ bill, launched this week, to totally and robotically fund the Shopper Monetary Safety Bureau so it may well preserve doing its job: defending shoppers, cracking down on scammers, and holding unhealthy actors accountable.”
A spokesperson for Sen. Susan Collins (R) mentioned she has lengthy prioritized client protections for seniors, together with by way of a brand new invoice referred to as the Senior Security Act, however did not point out any initiatives with a selected deal with cryptocurrency.
Rep. Jared Golden (D) and Sen. Angus King (I) didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Shifting ahead
When requested for remark, a spokesperson for CoinFlip wrote, “We had been saddened to listen to about this expertise, and we by no means need to revenue from sincere individuals being scammed. CoinFlip refunds transaction charges to victims in situations of fraud, and our staff is able to work with the client on that course of.”
Service has not recovered any of the cash he misplaced. He was so embarrassed that he deleted all of the textual content messages and discarded receipts related to the transactions. He hopes others will not make the identical mistake.
“It’s embarrassing, however you actually should not really feel embarrassed as a result of these individuals are slick,” Service mentioned. “Attempt to look previous that and get assist.”
![EUR/USD, XAU/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, Bitcoin and more [Video]](https://cryptonews100.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/bitcoin-explodes-02-350x250.jpg)
