U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led a group of seven Senate Democrats in pressing the ten largest Bitcoin ATM (BTM) operators to curb fraud against elderly Americans. Reporting in the Illinois Times and New York Times outlines egregious examples of criminals contacting elderly Americans and using threats and other forms of intimidation to coerce them into depositing large sums of money in the criminals’ crypto wallets via local BTMs.
In addition to Durbin, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). It was sent to BTM companies Athena Bitcoin, Bitcoin Depot, Bitstop, Byte Federal, Cash2Bitcoin, CoinFlip, Coinhub, Margo, RockItCoin, and Unbank.
The Senators wrote: “We write to call on you to take immediate action to address troubling reports that your Bitcoin ATMs (BTMs) are contributing to widespread financial fraud against elderly Americans. Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, have long been associated with criminal activity. The relative anonymity and irreversibility of cryptocurrency transactions has made them particularly attractive to fraudsters. As companies like yours have staged BTMs in a variety of businesses—sometimes even paying businesses to host your BTMs—there has been a marked increase in Bitcoin scams impacting elderly Americans.”
The Senators then cited a 2021 FBI Public Service Announcement and a recent example of this type of fraud in Springfield, Illinois, writing: “As BTMs have become more prevalent and accessible, they increasingly have become a favored tool of criminals looking to prey upon elderly Americans … This scheme has played out time and again in cities and towns across the United States. Earlier this summer, a small business owner in Springfield, Illinois, reported that a Coinhub BTM in his store repeatedly had been used by elderly individuals to deposit large sums of money at the urging of fraudsters … Similar scenarios have played out in Texas, California, and seemingly every other state in the country.”
The Senators then highlighted recent Federal Trade Commission data showing the massive scope and dramatic rise in BTM scams, writing: “Between 2020 and 2023, the amount consumers reported losing in this form of fraud increased by nearly tenfold—from $12 million to $114 million. In the first half of this year alone, victims lost a whopping $65 million. And criminals are targeting elderly Americans, with people age 60 and older more than three times as likely to report a loss using a BTM than younger adults.”
The Senators concluded by urging action, followed by a series of information requests to be responded to by October 4, 2024, writing: “While the actions of these good Samaritans [to try to step in] are laudable, they do not absolve [your company] from taking all requisite steps to ensure your BTMs are not used to perpetuate fraud. To better understand what actions [your company] is taking to address this problem and what legislation may be necessary, we ask that you respond to the following questions.”
