Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat who formerly chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, has proposed legislation to reduce fraud at crypto ATMs in the United States.
Speaking from the Senate floor on Feb. 25, Senator Durbin related a story from one of his constituents who had been scammed by someone claiming authorities had issued a warrant for his arrest. The fraudster claimed that the man could “pay the fine” through a $15,000 deposit at a crypto ATM to avoid jail.
The Illinois Senator said the scam represented an “alarming trend of crypto ATM fraud” among the more than 30,000 machines in the US. He introduced the Crypto ATM Fraud Prevention Act in an effort to place some “common sense guardrails” against fraud against primarily senior citizens.
“This bill will require crypto ATM operators to warn consumers about scams and take reasonable steps to prevent fraud at their machines,” said Senator Durbin. “It will also put in place measures to limit the amount that consumers lose when they do fall victim to scams, give law enforcement new tools to track down and fight back against criminals.”
The scam, while utilizing crypto, is a variation of one employed by criminals for years, usually threatening someone over the phone with fake legal consequences unless they purchase gift cards and send the redemption code. According to the FBI, Americans lost more than $5 billion from crypto fraud in 2023, with many scams targeting senior citizens.
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According to Senator Durbin, the legislation proposed “special protection” for two weeks after someone used a crypto ATM for the first time. The ATMs would be required to limit deposits from one customer to $2,000 daily or $10,000 total and verbally confirm any deposit over $500 from new customers. Operators would also have to provide full refunds to fraud victims under certain circumstances.
Cointelegraph reached out to representatives of crypto ATM operators CoinFlip and Bitcoin Depot but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Senator Durbin’s bill was one of the first crypto-focused pieces of legislation introduced in the 119th session of Congress following competing proposals to regulate stablecoins in the House and Senate. It’s unclear whether any Democrat-backed bill will have the support needed to pass through the Republican-controlled Congress and be signed into law by President Donald Trump.
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