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Behind the Ban on Crypto Kiosks

Earlier laws didn’t stop the fraud

Frederic Frommer,

AARP

Published November 01, 2026

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Sister Agnes Foley of St. Paul remembers getting a phone call in March 2025 that she needed to withdraw money from her bank account and transfer it elsewhere. Someone she thought was from her bank — but who was actually a scammer — instructed her to go to a liquor store and execute the transfer from a cryptocurrency kiosk.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce reports complaints tied to crypto kiosk scams cost victims nearly $1 million from 2023 through 2025. Due to chronic underreporting — or reports to other agencies — experts say true fraud losses are far higher.

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The Minnesota tally includes some breathtaking thefts, including one consumer who lost more than $33,000 in 2025, and another who lost nearly $20,000 this year, the department says.

But no more.

On Aug. 1, Minnesota banned crypto kiosks, which in recent years have become a pivotal tool for scammers. Indiana enacted a ban in March 2026, while bans in both Vermont and Tennessee took effect on July 1, 2026.

AARP Minnesota helped rally support for the bipartisan legislation, which is the latest in a string of actions by state officials and lawmakers to address the problem. The organization was part of a coalition that included the state Department of Commerce, the attorney general’s office, local and state law enforcement agencies, and victims of scams. Together, they educated legislators about the harms of cryptocurrency kiosks, helping to get it across the finish line.

Foley, in her late 80s, was one of the lucky ones. After initially following the scammer’s instructions and driving to the liquor store, she decided to leave her phone in the car. “I think I didn’t want him with me,” she recalls. “I think it was on purpose, but it was the best thing I did, so he couldn’t know what was happening.”

Once inside the store, an employee told her there had been “funny things” happening with the crypto machine. Foley decided to drive to her residence at Carondelet Village—a shared ministry of The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and Presbyterian Homes & Services that offers senior living residences — before making any transaction. Once home, she alerted an IT staffer employed by Sisters of St. Joseph.

“He talked with the guy on the phone,” Foley says. “He gave him words that I couldn’t repeat.” Foley testified this year before the Minnesota State Legislature about her experience.

“I wanted the story to be out there, because if it’s happening to me, it probably is happening to some others also,” she says.

Previous Efforts Inadequate

The crypto machine ban follows a 2024 law that added a host of regulations aimed at protecting residents from crypto kiosk scams. But Sara Payne, the Minnesota Department of Commerce’s assistant commissioner for enforcement, says those protections ultimately proved ineffective, given how complaints about crypto kiosks continued to increase.

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Scammers, Payne notes, worked around the new protections. They would split larger payments into smaller ones to avoid a new daily transaction limit. And they would often target older or non-tech savvy individuals who would rely heavily on the scammers’ advice rather than what was on the machines in front of them, she says.

“Most people aren’t familiar with the crypto kiosks, and [scammers] would stay with victims on the phone and literally walk them through the process,” Payne adds.

Cathy McLeer, state director for AARP Minnesota, says that fighting fraud has long been one of the organization’s top priorities because it helps protect older adults’ financial security.

“Things like cryptocurrency kiosk scams start to chip away at that financial security,” she says. “And when we lose financial security, we lose health security, we lose independence.”

During the 2026 legislative session, McLeer says it became clear there was overwhelming bipartisan support to ban the crypto machines outright.

AARP met with local law enforcement and elected officials. The organization also held virtual workshops to educate Minnesotans about the problem and to get volunteers to testify at the State Capitol. AARP heard Foley’s story through a volunteer and reached out to see if she needed help. That led to her testimony.

The efforts ultimately helped advocates gain bipartisan support for a full ban on the kiosks, McLeer says. The Senate passed the bill 53-13 and the House 127-7.

AARP has pushed consumer-focused crypto ATM legislation in statehouses across the country. As of October, lawmakers had passed measures — warnings, daily limits and outright bans among them — in 35 states.

If you see a cryptocurrency kiosk still in operation in Minnesota in violation of the new law, call or email the Commerce Department at 651-539-1600 or virtualcurrencykioskreporting.COMM@state.mn.us.

More AARP Fraud Resources

Frederic J. Frommer is a Washington, D.C.–based journalist and author for AARP who brings more than three decades of reporting experience to stories on public policy, health, and livability issues affecting older adults.

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