MADISON, WI – AARP Wisconsin is thanking members of the Wisconsin State Assembly for passing a bipartisan bill that would create consumer protections around cryptocurrency kiosks. Assembly Bill 968 is designed to stop criminals from using crypto ATMs to steal from victims.
“We applaud these legislators for taking action to prevent this crime, which is being committed at more than 700 cryptocurrency kiosks across Wisconsin,” said AARP Wisconsin State Director Raj Shukla. “The protections this bill puts into place would help ensure that scammers no longer have the upper hand with the manipulative and deceptive tactics they are using to steal the life savings of Wisconsinites.”
Shukla thanked the bill’s authors – Reps. Pat Snyder (R-Weston), Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska) and Sen. Jesse James (R-Thorp). He’s confident state senators will also see the magnitude of the problem and importance of passing this legislation on to the governor for signage into law.
Cryptocurrency kiosks are located in convenience stores, gas stations, restaurants, and other locations across Wisconsin. Criminals are increasingly using these machines to perpetrate scams by manipulating victims into withdrawing large sums of cash from their banks and depositing it into a crypto kiosk under the guise of protecting their assets or paying fines.
The bill passed by the Assembly would address crypto kiosk fraud and protect Wisconsinites’ pocketbooks by:
Setting daily transaction limits at $1,000.
Requiring cryptocurrency kiosk operators to provide users with receipts.
Implementing consumer identification measures for every transaction.
Allowing scam victims to receive refunds.
“No one should have to worry about being tricked into handing over their retirement funds to a criminal hiding behind a screen. This law goes a long way towards stopping that from happening,” Shukla said.
