U.S. Reps. Sean Casten (D-IL) and Maria Salazar (R-FL) introduced legislation recently that would provide strong protections for potential fraud victims and require crypto ATM companies to comply with anti-money laundering and anti-fraud measures.
The Stop Crypto ATM Scams Act would help ensure that sophisticated scammers targeting seniors and other vulnerable Americans are held accountable, the lawmakers said.
“My constituents have lost devastating sums of money to crypto-enabled fraud. Local banks and credit unions in my community are doing everything within their limited authority to stop these scams before they happen,” Casten said. “Crypto ATMs offer criminals a quick and easy way to prey on seniors and steal their hard-earned money. Congress can address these abuses by requiring enhanced consumer protections, mandating clear scam warnings and robust disclosures, and applying the same anti-money laundering rules and fraud prevention measures that other crypto firms, banks, and credit unions must comply with.”
There are more than 30,000 crypto ATMs nationwide that provide easy access to convert dollars to digital assets, and enable immediate, pseudo-anonymous and irreversible transfers. Their services make the assets appealing to scammers who may convince victims to withdraw funds from the bank or credit union and deposit the cash into a crypto ATM that will transfer digital assets to the criminal’s digital wallet. Law enforcement officials say stolen money from these scams often ends up in foreign countries that are less likely to cooperate with U.S. investigations, making it difficult for law enforcement to recover the funds.
FBI statistics indicate Americans lost more than $333 million in crypto ATM scams in 2025, a 33 percent increase over 2024. The incidents are thought to be under-reported, with older victims being ashamed of being scammed, or pressured to keep silent. According to a 2024 FBI report, individuals aged 60 and older account for 86 percent of all losses due to crypto ATM scams.
The legislation would require crypto ATM operators to adhere to anti-money laundering requirements; impose daily transaction limits for customers; require anti-fraud measures and scam warnings to be provided by operators, and requires detailed disclosures before a customer enters into a transaction, as well as written or electronic transaction receipts with specific information that can help with law enforcement investigations.