Revere bans cryptocurrency ATMs to curb fraud, protect residents

By Barbara Taormina

This week the City Council unanimously approved an ordinance banning cryptocurrency ATMs in Revere. Councillor-at-Large Marc Silvestri proposed the ordinance to protect residents from the many scams and fraud associated with the machines.

According to a report from CBS News, U.S. victims reported $240–$389 million in losses last year, with 86% of cases involving people aged 60 and older. Scammers use Cryptocurrency ATMs (kiosks) because transactions are irreversible and untraceable and lack consumer protection. Scammers use the machines to move stolen funds overseas, making recovery almost impossible.

The scams often follow a particular pattern. Scammers impersonate government officials, bank representatives and tech support staff, and they scare victims, telling them they must pay a fine, fix a hacked account or protect their assets from theft. Scammers instruct victims to deposit cash into a crypto kiosk, which instantly converts it to cryptocurrency and sends it to the scammer’s account or wallet. Crypto transactions cannot be undone once they are confirmed. Many cryptocurrency ATMs operate without strict identity verification or transaction limits.

Some victims lose their homes or life savings. In a case in Spokane, Washington, one man lost $900,000 in a single scam. Silvestri told the council about a local woman who lost $350,000 to scammers.

“These scams are very well thought out and highly sophisticated,” Silvestri told fellow councillors. “This ordinance shows our commitment to safeguarding our residents and ensuring access to trustworthy services. It’s safety for our community, our elders, immigrants who speak limited English and residents most in need.

Moving forward, convenience stores, gas stations and other businesses that have a Cryptocurrency ATM on-site will have 60 days to remove it. After that initial cooling off period, anyone who is out of compliance with the new ordinance will be fined $300 per day, per violation.