This Machine Cost Her Everything. It’s Time to Ban Crypto ATMs in Massachusetts.

After a Boston-area woman lost her life savings through a crypto ATM scam, AARP Massachusetts is urging lawmakers to step in. Her story shows why a statewide ban is urgently needed.

Last November, Marcia, a Boston-area resident, received a notification on her phone that didn’t make sense.

It looked like she owed money on a payment. Worried, she called the number.

That call changed everything.

What Marcia didn’t know was that she had reached a scammer. She was pressured, misled, and told she needed to act fast to fix the problem. The instructions were clear: withdraw her money and deposit it into a cryptocurrency ATM.

“I was lied to and pressured to deposit all my money into a cryptocurrency ATM,” she said.

In a matter of hours, her life savings were gone.

Crypto ATMs are showing up in everyday places, including gas stations, convenience stores, and shopping centers across the Commonwealth. They look familiar, but they operate without the protections people expect.

Scammers know that.

They stay on the phone, create urgency, and walk victims step-by-step through depositing cash into these machines. Once the transaction is complete, the money is almost always gone for good.

Marcia’s loss is part of a growing crisis. Massachusetts residents reported $6.8 million lost to crypto scams last year.

AARP Massachusetts spent months pushing for safeguards, including warnings, limits, and accountability.

But the scams didn’t stop.

Because these machines have become a go-to tool for criminals to drain people’s savings quickly, and often irreversibly.

That’s why AARP Massachusetts is now calling for a statewide ban on cryptocurrency ATMs.

When a product repeatedly puts people at risk, stronger action is needed.

Marcia is sharing her story to take her power back and to make sure no one else has to go through what she did.

Now we have a chance to act.

Sign the petition and urge Massachusetts lawmakers to ban crypto ATMs before more people lose their life savings.

Because behind every statistic is someone like Marcia—and the next victim shouldn’t be inevitable.