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Texas Sheriffs Crack Bitcoin ATM with Power Tools to Retrieve $32,000

Texas sheriffs used power tools in retrieving $32,000 from a Bitcoin ATM after a Jasper County family said they were scammed out of funds.

Jasper County Sheriff Chuck Havard told Decrypt that he’s “quite certain our boys have gotten into them before” but declined to comment on whether it was the first time that authorities had used force to retrieve funds from machines that are frequently used by scammers. “I’ve only ever seen a few people use it,” a worker at the gas station where the Bitcoin ATM is located, who asked not to be named, told Decrypt, adding that it’s been there for at least a year, well before the business’s current owner took over the store. A Bitcoin Depot spokesperson told Decrypt that the firm "regularly collaborates with investigators to clarify when recovery may be possible," adding that "such efforts typically involve the receiving wallet provider or exchange, not the kiosk itself."

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