On September 11, Senate Democrats
sent a
letter addressed to ten of the largest CEOs of bitcoin ATMs calling for “immediate action” to address reports that the ATMs may be contributing to financial fraud against elderly Americans. The senators’ letter emphasized the growing prevalence of ATMs and their supposed association with criminal activity because of their anonymity and irreversibility of cryptocurrency transactions. The letter also cited a 2021 FBI Public Service Announcement detailing how scammers exploited ATMs by directing victims to withdraw money and deposited it into ATMs using QR codes linked to the scammers’ cryptocurrency wallets.
To gain a clearer understanding of the measures that these companies are taking to address this issue, the senators have requested responses to questions by October 4. These questions cover topics such as: (i) the display of fraud warnings on BTMs; (ii) identification requirements for transactions; (iii) transaction size limits; (iv) daily deposit limits; (v) measures to reverse fraudulent transactions; (vi) fraud insurance; and (vii) customer support for defrauded individuals.
