MADISON, WI – AARP Wisconsin thanks the Wisconsin State Senate for unanimously passing a bipartisan bill yesterday to create consumer protections around cryptocurrency kiosks. SB 975/AB 968 is designed to stop criminals from using crypto ATMs to steal from victims.
“We applaud our Senators for taking action to prevent crimes committed daily at more than 700 cryptocurrency kiosks across Wisconsin,” said AARP Wisconsin State Director Raj Shukla. “This bill protects consumers from scammers who use, lie and cheat to steal an entire life savings in minutes using crypto kiosks.”
Shukla thanked the bill’s authors – Sen. Jesse James (R-Thorp), Rep. Pat Snyder (R-Weston), and Rep. Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska) for shepherding this legislation to the governor to sign into law.
He also thanks all state legislators for listening to AARP Wisconsin’s 800,000-plus members, law enforcement, and scam victims who were brave enough to share their stories of financial manipulation.
“We couldn’t have gotten this critically important legislation across the finish line without the collective strength of our membership and other stakeholders. This was truly a team effort from start to finish,” Shukla said.
Cryptocurrency kiosks are found in convenience stores, gas stations, and other businesses across Wisconsin. Criminals use threats and deceptive promises to convince victims to deposit cash into a crypto kiosk. Then money is converted into crypto currency and essentially disappears.
Investigations have shown that more than 9 in 10 uses of crypto kiosks are fraudulent, and many are tied to illicit activities like drug and human trafficking.
This legislation protects 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 manipulated by criminals hiding behind a screen,” Shukla said. “The overwhelming evidence shows these machines are almost exclusively used to steal millions of dollars from consumers. This law goes a long way towards stopping that from happening,” Shukla said.
“Wisconsinites have been exposed to these devastating scams for too long,” Shukla said. “We’re thrilled our lawmakers acted to curb these scams, and we are confident the governor will agree and sign the bill into law.”
