Cryptomat is not responsible for user stupidity

According to CNBC, in February of this year, a Canadian resident became a victim of a telephone scam. As a result, she bought $62,500 worth of Bitcoin and sent it to the scammer, who she believed was the Canada Revenue Agency.

In order to compensate for losses, the woman filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the crypto machine “Instacoin ATM Canada Inc.” demanding that she be reimbursed for the money she deposited into the terminal. According to yesterday's court ruling, Instacoin is not responsible for the victim's losses and therefore should not return any money to her.

According to the victim's testimony, the scammer called her claiming to be an employee of the Canada Revenue Agency. Claiming that the woman owed taxes, the fraudster demanded money. The victim went to the Instacoin ATM, bought $62,500 worth of bitcoins and sent them to the attacker.

The woman was distraught when she learned that the calls were not from the IRS. "It's really hard. I need this money." The victim, who had only recently moved to Canada, was afraid of deportation, so she paid the amount that the scammers demanded of her. In September of this year, she sued Instacoin in hopes of getting her money back. The provincial court in Charlottetown ruled that Instacoin did not commit a crime, but simply provided financial services to its customers. 

Given the immutability of Bitcoin transactions, the victim's BTC is lost forever. Instacoin still has the $62,500 the woman deposited into the ATM, but the company is not required to hand over the money, according to the court ruling. Judge Orr explained: “We regret that she was the victim of such a sophisticated scam, but Instacoin is not at fault in this matter.”