Spokane, the second-largest city in Washington state, has banned crypto ATMs in response to a surge in scam activity targeting local residents.
Spokane City Council said on Monday that it became the first city in Washington to ban cryptocurrency ATMs following a unanimous vote.
The measure was proposed by Council member Paul Dillon, who helped to put forward the ban, said that crypto ATMs “have become a preferred tool for scammers looking to defraud unsuspecting victims,” and the ban would “protect vulnerable Spokane residents from scams involving virtual currency kiosks.”
Dillon told local newspaper The Spokesman-Review that the measure “will ban future ones, as well as remove existing kiosks. We see a lot located in poor neighborhoods, convenience stores, grocery stores.”
According to the ordinance, the city of Spokane has seen a “significant increase in scams arising from the use of cryptocurrency kiosks, and there has been a steady increase in victims losing thousands of dollars.”
The edict added that it provides a tool “to protect consumers from those individuals who rely primarily on virtual currency to defraud others.”
Monitoring the impact
Crypto ATM operators have 60 days to remove dozens of kiosks citywide or face civil infractions and business license revocation.
On Tuesday, the Spokane City Council said it will track progress and report on whether the ordinance has a measurable impact on the frequency of reported crimes involving crypto kiosks.
Hotbed for scammers
Police detective Tim Schwering reportedly told the council that he’s seen a number of cases where money fed into these kiosks “will end up in places like China, North Korea, Russia.”
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He said criminals impersonate law enforcement or tax officials, telling victims to buy crypto at the ATMs to protect their money or avoid jail time.
“They’re scamming people, saying that they need to move their money into cryptocurrency in order to protect it,” Schwering said, according to The Spokesman-Review. “By the time the money is into the cryptocurrency, it’s already too late.”
Crypto kiosk scams surge
The FBI reported in April that there were almost 11,000 complaints and over $246 million in losses associated with crypto ATM scams in 2024, a 31% increase from 2023.
Scammers have also been targeting the elderly, with two-thirds of the victims of crypto kiosk fraud and scams being over 60, it noted.
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