<blockquote>
  <p><strong>it seems like a wallet address was generated for her</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>This seems most likely to me. An ATM should not allow the destination/receiving address to be empty or to contain something that is not a valid bitcoin-address (e.g. a phone number would be rejected)</p>

<p>A phone number might be requested for an online custodial wallet service with two-factor authentication (2FA) - if so you'd need to find out the URL of the service, and the corresponding username and password or other credentials.</p>

<p>If your friend doesn't have a printed receipt with some details on it, it is likely that the money is now forever inaccessible.</p>

<p>I would</p>

<ul>
<li>try to find a printed receipt</li>
<li>contact the ATM owner (although I would not expect them to be able to help)</li>
<li>visit the ATM with your friend and try to recreate what happened with the minimum possible amount of money as a test.</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-18T13:39:07.677Z
2019-06-18T13:39:07.677Z
RedGrittyBrick
<p>I haven't tried to receive or send bitcoins using an ATM, but I think there are special account statements that you can get from an ATM (you can also fund anything there). I sometimes call an ATM to check my account but always make myself a number to <a href="https://quackr.io/temporary-numbers/united-kingdom" rel="nofollow noreferrer">receive sms online uk</a>. It turns out that no one will know my real number (anti-spam for advertisers). I think bitcoin can be topped up when you have accurate information about the possibilities of using the currency elsewhere.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-14T22:05:58.033Z
2022-04-15T12:52:03.160Z
2022-04-15T12:52:03.160Z
TomHowland14
<p>A friend was trying to send me bitcoin using a Bitcoin ATM, she sent the funds to "her phone number" instead of my wallet QR code. The ATM indicated that Bitcoin was sent, but my friend doesn't even have a wallet address. It seems like a wallet address was generated for her and we don't know how to retrieve this bitcoin back, can you help?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-17T15:44:45.803Z
Did she get a transaction ID (64-character hex code)?  You can look it up on a site like http://blockchain.info and see what address the coins were actually sent to.
Nate Eldredge
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-18T21:49:52.077Z
Did the ATM provide a receipt? What's on it? (Do not share any exact numbers or codes on the receipt. Just generally describe what's on it!)
David Schwartz
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-23T19:35:30.900Z
Have you tried contacting the ATM operator?
Murch
<private-key><lost-transactions><bitcoin-atm>
Bitcoin ATM paid out to a phone number, how can the funds be retrieved?
user96229
# Bitcoin ATM paid out to a phone number, how can the funds be retrieved?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-06-17)

A friend was trying to send me bitcoin using a Bitcoin ATM, she sent the funds to "her phone number" instead of my wallet QR code. The ATM indicated that Bitcoin was sent, but my friend doesn't even have a wallet address. It seems like a wallet address was generated for her and we don't know how to retrieve this bitcoin back, can you help?

**Tags:** private-key, lost-transactions, bitcoin-atm

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Did she get a transaction ID (64-character hex code)?  You can look it up on a site like http://blockchain.info and see what address the coins were actually sent to.  
> **username_2**: Did the ATM provide a receipt? What's on it? (Do not share any exact numbers or codes on the receipt. Just generally describe what's on it!)  
> **username_3**: Have you tried contacting the ATM operator?  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2019-06-18. Score: 1

> **it seems like a wallet address was generated for her**

This seems most likely to me. An ATM should not allow the destination/receiving address to be empty or to contain something that is not a valid bitcoin-address (e.g. a phone number would be rejected)

A phone number might be requested for an online custodial wallet service with two-factor authentication (2FA) - if so you'd need to find out the URL of the service, and the corresponding username and password or other credentials.

If your friend doesn't have a printed receipt with some details on it, it is likely that the money is now forever inaccessible.

I would

* try to find a printed receipt
* contact the ATM owner (although I would not expect them to be able to help)
* visit the ATM with your friend and try to recreate what happened with the minimum possible amount of money as a test.


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2022-04-14. Score: 0

I haven't tried to receive or send bitcoins using an ATM, but I think there are special account statements that you can get from an ATM (you can also fund anything there). I sometimes call an ATM to check my account but always make myself a number to [receive sms online uk](https://quackr.io/temporary-numbers/united-kingdom). It turns out that no one will know my real number (anti-spam for advertisers). I think bitcoin can be topped up when you have accurate information about the possibilities of using the currency elsewhere.


---

