The post Illinois Senator Proposes Bill to Regulate Crypto ATMs Nationwide appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Crypto ATMs, once touted as a convenience for enthusiasts, are now being exploited by scammers, leaving victims, many of them elderly, with substantial financial losses.  In response, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin has introduced the Crypto ATM Fraud Prevention Act, seeking to impose new regulations to curb the rising tide of fraud associated with these machines. The legislation, announced Tuesday, would place strict transaction limits on crypto ATMs and require companies to offer full refunds to victims who report fraud within 30 days of the transaction. “These measures are common-sense guardrails that will prevent countless Americans, particularly senior citizens, from losing thousands of dollars of their hard-earned savings to criminal scams,” Dublin said while urging his colleagues on the Senate floor to pass the bill into law. Under the proposed rules, new users would be prohibited from spending more than $2,000 daily or $10,000 within 14 days.  The bill would also mandate that users attempting transactions over $500 be contacted directly by operators to ensure fraudsters are not manipulating them.  Durbin kicked off his proposal by sharing the story of a New Lenox man who was scammed out of $15,000 after receiving a call from someone pretending to be a deputy. The scammer told him he had missed jury duty and could avoid arrest by paying a fine through a Bitcoin ATM.  The victim, worried about the consequences, followed the instructions and deposited the money, only to realize it was a scam. “There was no way to trace the transaction to the scammer and no way to get the money back,” Dublin said. “This is just one example of a growing and alarming trend of crypto ATM fraud.” As the world’s largest crypto gains widespread institutional interest, with 18 states, including Illinois, proposing to establish Bitcoin Reserves, crypto-related scams are also…

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Filed under: News - @ February 26, 2025 2:23 pm