La Conner Town Council bans crypto kiosks over scam concerns
By Luisa Loi
La Conner Community News
The La Conner Town Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a ban on cryptocurrency kiosks from town limits in an effort to protect community members from scammers.
Crypto is a form of virtual currency that can be exchanged directly without a third-party financial intermediary, such as a bank, that can facilitate and confirm the validity of the transactions. Crypto kiosks are electronic terminals that look like ATM machines and allow users to exchange dollars for crypto and vice versa.
Once a crypto payment is made, it cannot be reversed, which makes this currency particularly appealing to criminals.
Under the new rule, anyone who “placed, permitted the placement, operated or permitted the operation” of a kiosk in La Conner before June 9 is required to remove it from town limits within 90 days of the ordinance’s effective date. If the machine is not removed (or one is installed after the ordinance’s effective date), the town would be authorized to deny business license renewals or revoke an existing one.
A similar ordinance was passed by the Anacortes City Council in April.
The machines are typically located in supermarkets, convenience stores, bars and other businesses. One is located at Pioneer Market, which did not respond to a media inquiry by press time. During the meeting, Mayor Marna Hanneman said she had spoken with the general manager, who reportedly told her they had no issue with the ordinance.
In 2023, the FBI reported nearly $5.6 billion in losses across the nation, $141.7 million of it in Washington alone. People aged 60 and older account for over 85% of losses involving the machines, according to the agency.
Scammers may approach victims via phone calls, emails, social media, dating sites and messaging apps, using fake identities to pose as potential love interests, investors, job recruiters, service providers, law enforcement, a bank, the Internal Revenue Service and more.
Once scammers gain victims’ trust, they may emotionally manipulate them into releasing their financial and personal identifying information, urging them to withdraw and submit large sums of money through a crypto kiosk.
Dan Maul, a volunteer who helps victims seeking support from the AARP Fraud Watch Network, spoke in favor of the ordinance as scammers have become so persuasive that some of his clients have even included lawyers and financial advisers.
Luisa Loi is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
