“This is a piece of legislation that will once again stand firm to say the state of Alabama will not allow these fraudsters to do this to our citizens,” said Representative Bedsole, a Republican lawmaker who also works in law enforcement for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.
House Bill 303 dropped on Wednesday, coinciding with the Alabama Securities Commission’s announcement that it had performed a statewide survey of cryptocurrency kiosk transactions and discovered that residents are being scammed out of millions of dollars from fraudsters.
Alabama Securities Commission Director Amanda Senn said the findings are disturbing. The victims surveyed by her office were scammed out of $6.5 million dollars, half of what was deposited into the surveyed kiosks during that time, which was $12.5 million.
She said a significant number of the scams took place in central Alabama, and fraudsters will use any means available if they believe they can exploit it.
“We went out and we talked to the users of the machines,” Senn explained. “What we learned was that many of these individuals had been victimized through a fraud scheme, conducted or perpetrated at a cryptocurrency kiosk.”
Senn said they reviewed six companies that operate crypto ATMs throughout the state, reaching out to 1185 customers who used the machines in 2024. They made contact with half of them.
Of the approximately 600 individuals they surveyed, her office reports that 64% were victims of fraud in which the perpetrators directed their victims to send them U.S. currency using a crypto ATM.
52% of the victims were aged 60 and over.
A 73-year-old victim described being scammed out of $13,000 after receiving a text about a $900 charge from a Walmart in December of 2024. She called the number back.
“They were so good at what they did, it was unbelievable,” she said.
The person she was on the phone with claimed to be conducting an “official investigation,” calling from a Washington, D.C. area code, even sending her a photo of a fake badge and using what is most likely a fake photo and fake name.
The deception escalated. She was threatened with a supposed warrant and directed by the caller to withdraw all the money in her checking account to “clear her name” with the promise of getting all her money returned. She ended up at a Crypto ATM in Montgomery.
“I’m sitting on this stool, and I’ve got this big thing of money and I’m feeding it $100 bills,” she explained. “Over and over and over and over….$13,000 dollar worth.”
She shared her story in hopes of preventing someone else from getting scammed.
“Relationships get ruined, finances are ruined,” she said. “They are professionals, they could get Oscars for their performances, I tell you, it’s very sad.”
She said she did receive a voice mail warning about potential scams from CoinhubATM after she got off the call. The company’s website has information posted on how to protect yourself from financial scams and fraud—information she never saw while on the phone.
We did reach out to coinhubatm.com, but we have not heard back.
Representative Bedsole’s bill, if passed, would require Crypto ATMs to post explicit warnings about consumer fraud and impose transaction limits of one thousand dollars a day and ten thousand dollars a month.
“There are some other provisions there that will safeguard and possibly even up to giving money back, once they report the fraud to their local law enforcement agency,” he explained.
While the Commission never named the companies they reviewed, CBS 42 reached out to one of the leading cryptocurrency ATM companies, Bitcoin Depot, to get their take on the new legislation introduced here in the state of Alabama on Wednesday.
“Bitcoin Depot supports efforts to protect consumers and agrees that preventing fraud should be a priority across the industry. Crypto ATMs are used by a wide range of people, often for smaller transactions like sending money or trying digital currency for the first time, and it’s important that those users feel informed and protected.
We welcome thoughtful regulation and work closely with regulators and law enforcement to address fraud when it occurs. We’re licensed where required, follow strong compliance standards, and provide multiple scam warnings and clear disclosures to customers before transactions are completed.
As lawmakers consider new rules, it’s important to strike a balance, strengthening consumer safeguards while still allowing responsible access to these services for people who rely on them. We support collaboration between policymakers, regulators, and the industry to ensure regulations are effective and practical for consumers.”
We also reached out to Joe Ciccolo, the Founder and President of BitAML, who has provided regulatory compliance consulting services to the crypto industry, including crypto ATM operators, for over a decade.
He sent us a statement which reads in part:
“BitAML supports risk-based, targeted enhancements that build on existing safeguards—particularly those focused on consumer education, additional protections for seniors and other vulnerable consumers, and early-stage customer interactions. At the same time, overly broad or one-size-fits-all restrictions risk pushing consumers toward less regulated alternatives, reducing transparency and oversight. The most effective approach is to strengthen protections where fraud risk is highest, while focusing enforcement on scams and bad actors rather than the technology itself.”
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