Dick Durbin, the Majority Whip and Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is leading a group of U.S. Senate Democrats in their call for major cryptocurrency ATM operators to address the increasing fraud that is targeting elderly Americans promptly.
Seven Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren, stated on September 12, urging 10 of the nation’s largest crypto ATM firms to address the increasing financial losses from Bitcoin ATMs (BTMs).
In the first half of 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that fraud associated with these devices totaled $65 million.
Older Americans are more susceptible to ATM scams
The senators expressed particular concern for older Americans, pointing out that those aged 60 and older are more than three times as likely to be the victims of BTM-related scams as younger citizens.
The CEOs and senior executives of Bitcoin Depot, CoinFlip, RockItCoin, Bitstop, Coinhub, Unbank, Athena Bitcoin, Byte Federal, Cash2Bitcoin, and Margo were the recipients of the letters.
The firms were urged to “take immediate action” to curtail fraud schemes that disproportionately affect seniors by Durbin, Warren, and fellow senators Richard Blumenthal, Jack Reed, Tina Smith, Peter Welch, and Sheldon Whitehouse.
They emphasized the role that these companies have played in the placement of BTMs in a variety of locations, frequently compensating businesses to host the devices.
This has increased scams that target elderly Americans, as per the legislators.
The senators cited a July report by the Illinois Times, in which a business owner removed a Coinhub ATM after recognizing that most users were fraud victims.
They also cited a New York Times article describing numerous scammers coercing older individuals into transferring funds through crypto ATMs.
The senators requested that the companies respond by October 4, outlining their measures to prevent fraud.
Among the primary inquiries that were addressed were whether the firms offer fraud insurance for depositors, impose transaction and deposit limits, and provide fraudulent warnings.
Crypto ATM Fraud Surges 10x Since 2020
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) observed that crypto ATM fraud has increased tenfold since 2020, from $12 million to $144 million.
The FBI also reported that crypto fraud resulted in a loss of $5.6 billion in 2023, which represents a 45% increase from the previous year.
As previously reported, scammers increasingly utilize crypto ATMs and terminals in their fraudulent schemes, exploiting these digital currency exchange points to defraud unsuspecting victims.
The increasing prevalence of crypto ATMs coincides with an increase in fraud.
In the past two years, the quantity of crypto ATMs in Australia has increased from 73 to nearly 1,200. This information was recently disclosed.
In the interim, the United States remains the most significant market, with an estimated 32,000 machines. Canada follows with approximately 3,000.