Is it possible to regain access to a locked Mac mini M1 after a fraud?

Apple's security team told you correctly. Apple will not assist with removing Activation Lock unless and until you can prove that you are the valid original owner of that Mac, and that requires a receipt showing your name and the full details of the sale including the Mac's serial number. Without that information Apple will not assist since they will have no way of verifying that you are the legal owner.

So you will need to attempt recovery yourself. See:

Activation Lock for Mac - Apple Support

and if you gave the crooks your Apple Account information, see:

If you think your Apple Account has been compromised - Apple Support

Good luck.

vovagrin1 wrote:

I'm not sure the security team has thoroughly reviewed my request. I really have no way to provide the receipt. So, does this mean I have to just throw the computer away? As I understand it, it’s currently impossible to unlock it, since the lock was applied from the scammers' account.

I'm sure that they did review your request thoroughly and gave you the correct information. Again, if you can't prove ownership, then Apple cannot and will not help you. If they did help break the security lock on a device without the requester having to provide proof of legal ownership, then the security would be completely useless.

You can try erasing the Mac and seeing if you can start fresh:

Erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings - Apple Support

But if Activation Lock was set up using someone else's Apple Account, as you indicate happened, then you won't be able to complete the reinstallation and reactivation. In that case then absent the original receipt showing that you are the valid owner, there is indeed going to be no way you can erase and recover that Mac and it is unfortunately now useless. If that is indeed the case, then this is I'm sorry to say likely to be a painful lesson for the future.

Regards.

They have no way of knowing that the account is fraudulent. Without you being able to prove legal ownership of the Mac, Apple Security has no way of knowing who is valid and who is the fraud. From their standpoint, absent ownership proof it could be you that is the fraud, attempting to find a way to break into a computer you've stolen (and I'm not saying that's the case here, just that Apple has no way of knowing). There are people and organizations who may have multiple devices connected to a single Apple Account, so that would not be any reliable indicator. That's why they require an original receipt as proof of ownership.

There's nothing further anyone here can say. If none of the steps that have been suggested in this thread work to recover that Mac, then you'll just have to move on, unfortunate though it is, and learn from the experience.

Regards.

I assume you already tried from Recovery mode:

If you can't reset your Mac login password - Apple Support

If you can get a PW to work you can always erase and restore form backup.

Is it possible to contact the seller and see if they have a record of your purchase?