Nevada’s unregulated ‘crypto kiosks’ are a paradise for scammers, AARP warns
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Cryptocurrency is designed to be anonymous and instantaneous, which makes it an ideal vehicle for scammers, who extort or convince victims to deposit their cash into a crypto kiosk and transfer it to the scammer’s digital wallet.
This article was originally published by Nevada Current.
Nevadans are losing millions of dollars each year to cryptocurrency scams, and much of the fraud is aided by the hundreds of largely unregulated “bitcoin ATMs,” state lawmakers heard last week.
Crypto kiosks — also called cryptocurrency ATMs or bitcoin ATMs — often look just like bank ATMs and are located in grocery stores, convenience stores and other places where you’d expect to see a traditional ATM. The kiosks allow people to convert cash into cryptocurrency like bitcoin or ethereum.
Cryptocurrency is designed to be anonymous and instantaneous, which makes it an ideal vehicle for scammers,who extort or convince victims to deposit their cash into a crypto kiosk and transfer it to the scammer’s digital wallet, never to be seen again by the victim.
Getting your money back after falling for a crypto scam “is almost impossible,” said Jessica Pedrón, the associate state director of AARP Nevada.
Pedrón last week implored lawmakers in an interim legislative committee meeting to pass consumer protections specific to the growing crypto kiosk industry. In December, the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office warned that cryptocurrency scams are on the rise.
Nationwide, $246.7 million in crypto kiosk scam losses was reported in 2024 by the Federal Bureau of Investigations’ Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). People aged 60 or older accounted for $107.2 million of those losses.
IC3 fielded nearly 11,000 complaints related to crypto kiosks — a 31% increase from 2023.
The scams typically involve a stranger reaching out to the victim via phone, email or social media. Sometimes the scammer will claim to be tech support from a bank or local law enforcement. They’ll fabricate a story about how the victim needs to secure their funds or pay off a fine lest they or a loved one get arrested.
“Sometimes folks are so scared of these scammers that a(n actual) police officer will try to stop them and say ‘Ma’am, this is not legitimate. We do not have a warrant out for your arrest’ or what have you. And they refuse to believe it.”
Pedrón said in one case an older woman deposited thousands of dollars of her retirement into a convenience store crypto kiosk, one $100 bill at a time.
“The convenience worker felt bad for her and pulled her up a seat,” she added, “so she could deposit her entire life savings into a crypto ATM.”
Nevada has 447 bitcoin kiosks, 336 of which are in Southern Nevada, according to a public listing by Bitcoin Depot.
“We have so many of these just in Clark County,” said Pedrón. “As far as regulations, protections, (and) putting those in place, Nevada has not done that.”
Nevada licenses some crypto kiosk operators as money transmitters, according to the state’s Financial Institutions Division, but regulations specific to the industry have not passed the Nevada State Legislature.
AARP recommends states pass legislation or regulations that establish daily transaction limits, require specific warnings about scams, help victims get refunds after being defrauded, and cap kiosk transaction fees (which are often significantly higher than comparable industries).
“We’re not anti-crypto,” Pedrón told lawmakers. “Folks are very much into these investment tools, but we find it is one of the top methods of fraud. Not just for seniors — for everybody — but seniors are particularly vulnerable.”
There are legitimate crypto businesses, she continued, and some are “willing to be proactive” but standardization and protections for Nevadans are needed.
Some states have already taken action. According to AARP, at least 11 states passed crypto kiosk legislation last year, and Indiana outright banned them this year.
AARP quoted one Indiana Republican legislative leader saying he could “think of no legitimate reasons, no substantial legitimate reasons” to warrant the kiosks.