Illinois Senator Dick Durbin announced legislation on Tuesday that would institute new regulations for the nation’s cryptographic atmium industry.
The machines have been growing as kiosks are used for scams where victims have lost thousands of dollars, on a single visit.
The ATT Crypto Att fraud prevention law would avoid New users to spend more than $ 2,000 on a day or $ 10,000 for a period of 14 days to buy cryptocurrencies at a Bitcoin automatic cashier. The bill would also require companies to speak directly with new clients that seek to carry out transactions greater than $ 500 and demand complete refunds when these users have a police report and alert the operators within 30 days after their transaction.
“As our technology has evolved and becomes more sophisticated, the scammers have also done,” said Durbin, the main Democrat of the Senate Judicial Committee, in a statement. “The nefarious actors are now using intimidation and manipulation to scare Americans, particularly the elderly, so that they throw their life savings in automatic cryptocurrency ATMs.” The bill, he said, “would help stop the effectiveness of these scams.”
At least $ 114 million were reported in losses of scams related to Bitcoins automatic ATMs to the Federal Commerce Commission in 2023. Defenders and the application of the law say that the elderly Adults are particularly vulnerable to such crimes.
NBC News has previously informed about scams, which defenders say they have proliferated following the regulatory gaps. Some victims have been falsely believed that they faced an arrest or Fines owed by the duty of missing jury.
Eric Reismman, a 67 -year -old retired special education teacher, said he fell to a jury service scam in January. Baltimore County resident said he lost $ 7,000 after paying the alleged fine feeding bills at a Bitcoin ATM. It is possible, he said, there was a warning in the machine that happened.
“I was hypnotized, that’s the best I can say,” Reismman said. “Why would it have spent four and a half hours in this thing and won’t wake me up?”
Having an interaction with a customer service representative could have helped break the spell, he said.
“If someone called me and said: ‘Wait a second, what are you doing? Why are you putting so much money and have more money you are going to put? That would also have saved me, ”said Reisman.
The Senate bill occurs when kiosks have become more accessible, appearing in service stations and groceries in communities in the United States.
Consumer guards have pressed the federal supervision of the industry. At least three states, Minnesota, California and Vermont, already have daily transaction limits for Bitcoins ATMs. The Senate bill says that it will differ to state regulations, provided they are not in conflict or less strict.
In autumn, Durbin directed an investigation of a group of Democratic senators who question how the 10 largest Bitcoin ATM operators in the country protected the elderly of the scams.
Companies said they required users to recognize warnings about potential fraud and most established daily transaction limits of around $ 25,000.
NBC News contacted three cryptographic ATM operators: Bitcoin Depot, Coinflip and Athena Bitcoin, to comment on Durbin legislation. These companies operate most Bitcoin ATMs in the USA., According to Coin Atm Radar, a website that tracks them.
A Coinflip spokesman said in a statement that the kiosks are used by thousands of daily “legitimate transactions”, calling them “critical” to the sphere of cryptocurrency.
“We support the legislation that includes strong and consistent protections for consumers, while preserving their right to access digital currencies, and we hope to work with Senator Durbin on this important issue,” reads the statement.
A Bitcoin Depot spokesman declined to comment. Athena Bitcoin did not respond immediately.
When similar regulations have been discussed at the state level, some companies have argued that they could still be evaded if the scammers simply ordered victims to go to more than one site.
If the bill is approved, the Treasury Department could fine $ 10,000 for each day of violations persist.
Americans for financial reform are one of several surveillance groups that have supported the legislation. Mark Hays, its associate director of cryptocurrencies and financial technology, says that legislation as a “good first step” to address practices within the cryptographic industry that have allowed fraud to flourish.
“This bill will not solve all those problems,” he said, “but can help.”
