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How Do the Scams Work?
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Two weeks into the 2026 Legislative Session and AARP Wyoming’s priority legislation continues to work through the process with little resistance. As of Feb. 20, HB75, Crypto Kiosks had passed the second of three required readings in the House of Representatives and appears bound for the Senate during the third of the four-week session. Representative Ken Clouston (R-Campbell) is the bill’s primary sponsor with co-sponsorship from Rep. Landon Brown (R-Laramie), Rep. Marilyn Connolly (R-Johnson), Rep. Andrew Byron (R-Teton), Rep. Steve Harshman (R-Natrona), Rep. Ann Lucas (R-Laramie), Rep. Daniel Singh (R-Laramie), Rep. Art Washut (R-Natrona), Rep. Jacob Wasserburger (R-Laramie); and Senators Eric Barlow (R-Campbell), Stacey Jones (R-Sweetwater), and Chris Rothfuss (D-Albany).
Crypto kiosks, or crypto ATMs, are a relatively new phenomenon in Wyoming. The machines allow citizens to deposit cash into them, instantly convert it into cryptocurrency such as bitcoin, and then transfer the cryptocurrency to another “wallet,” or person, who is often a scammer. In fact, in Iowa and the District of Columbia, regulators have reported that more than 90% of transactions facilitated by crypto kiosks have been fraudulent.
“If our readers take nothing else away from reading this story, know that if someone calls you and tells you to put money into a crypto ATM to take care of a fine, or pay a bill, it is most certainly a scam,” says AARP Wyoming’s Tom Lacock. “Scammers love these machines because they allow for near-instant transfer of money in a way that cannot be reversed.”
AARP Wyoming is asking lawmakers to institute the following rules around crypto kiosks:
- Written disclosures are to be required near machines, warning of the risks of their use in fraud and scams.
- The Cheyenne and Gillette Police Departments have demonstrated to us the importance of paper receipts for use in their investigations. AARP wants paper receipts to be the standard.
- A proposed transaction limit of $1,000 per day and $10,000 per month. Keep in mind that the average transaction at the kiosks is $300.
- Transaction fees to be refunded in the case of scams. These kiosks typically charge high transaction fees, ranging from 7% to 26%. As an example, if a victim has deposited $50,000 into a kiosk in what turns out to be a scam, the fees to the kiosk operator would be $10,000, assuming a 20% transaction fee.
How do the scams work?
Scams involving kiosks aren’t new; however, the means for transferring money via kiosks to scammers is relatively new. Law enforcement tells AARP Wyoming that the impostor scam, in which someone claims to be from a government agency, such as the IRS, remains common. A number of police impostor scams are currently targeting Wyoming residents, who are being told they have a warrant issued for their arrest or a fine that needs to be paid through a cryptocurrency ATM for missing jury duty. The golden oldies, such as the grandparent scam, romance scam, or even someone calling claiming to be a power company or bank, encouraging the person to address an urgent matter by putting cash into a crypto kiosk, are also common. Scammers will call, make the demand of payment in the form of crypto, and stay on the phone with the victim as they go to their bank to withdraw cash and direct the victim to a crypto kiosk.
“The most common scams we see are the law enforcement scam or your jury duty scam,” Malatesta said. “These are someone calling you and saying you have a warrant and convinces the victim they need to pay for the warrant or pay for not attending jury duty.”
Forest Rothleugner of the Gillette PD says most of the scams come from organized crime syndicates in Nigeria, India, and Burma, and some who are making the calls have been kidnapped or human trafficked into a life of making scam calls.
“(The AARP proposal) does a lot of things we have wanted to do, that is, put some kind of sticker or placard on the ATM as to what this thing is,” Malatesta says. “Have some notice on there that these things are used to perpetrate scams, and if someone is on the phone with you trying to get you to put money into this thing, that should be a giant red flag that this is a scam. The other thing that is exciting is limiting the amount of money that goes into these machines on a transaction. If a person takes a step back and thinks about it, they are not going to be scammed. If they have that break from that contact from the person who is on the phone with them, they are not likely to get scammed. I think that is one great thing in this proposal because it offers that break, that cooling period.
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