The United States Department of the Financial Crimes Treasury Infalling Network (Fincen) has issued a warning Monday, urging financial institutions to “be vigilant in the identification and reporting of suspicious activities” involving automatic distributors of cryptocurrency tickets. The agency has identified the sector as being particularly useful for criminals whitening drug money.
Fincen is the US US Treasury Bureau responsible for collecting and analyzing information on financial transactions to combat the money laundering of national and international money, terrorist funding and other financial crimes.
His latest advisory opinion said that the analysis of information on the secrecy of banks (BSA) had revealed that automatic cryptocurrency tickets, also called convertible virtual currency kiosks (CVC), are used to whiten the product of drugs suspected “as an alternative to smuggling in bulk”.
The agency cited reports of the Drug Encompement Administration (DEA) which showed criminal organizations such as the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, a Mexican criminal union, used more and more automatic crypto counters in this way.
“Although CVC kiosks can be a simple and practical way for consumers to access CVCs, crooks and other illicit players can also exploit their simplicity and convenience,” said the opinion of Fincen. “These non -compliant CVC kiosk companies also often lack policies, procedures and internal controls reasonably designed to respond to requests from the application of laws.”
Another disturbing tendency identified was a type of fraud program in which criminals allow victims to use automatic distributors of cryptographic tickets to send payments under false pretexts – a particularly targeted scam for the elderly.
According to Fincen, in 2024, the Center for Crime Complaints on the Internet of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (IC3) received more than 10,956 complaints of complaints using automatic Crypto ticket distributors, with loss of reported victims of approximately $ 246.7 million.
This represents a 99% increase in the number of complaints and a 31% increase in the loss of reported victims of 2023.
These disturbing statistics are supported by recent data From the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has also shown fraud losses linked to automatic distributors of “soar” cryptographic tickets, increasing almost ten times from 2020 to 2023, and exceeding $ 65 million in the first half of 2024.
“Criminals are relentless in their efforts to steal money from the victims, and they have learned to exploit innovative technologies such as CVC kiosks,” said fincen director Andrea Gacki, in a August 4 statement. “The United States is determined to protect the ecosystem from digital assets for legitimate businesses and consumers, and financial institutions are an essential partner in this effort.”
Fincen previously discussed 2019 Advisoryin which he said that “financial institutions should carefully assess and mitigate any potential money laundering, terrorist financing and other risks of illicit financing associated with CVCs.”
In its latest opinion, the agency reiterated that financial institutions are required to file a suspicious activity report (SAR) if they know or suspect a transaction: implies funds drawn from illegal activity or attempts to disguise funds from illegal activity; is designed to escape the regulations promulgated under the BSA; lack of an apparent legal company or legal objective; or implies the use of the financial institution to facilitate criminal activity.
A booming space under fire
Current Corner ATM radar data Put the number of automatic distributors of digital currency tickets in the United States at more than 30,000 nationally, in August 2025. Combined with losses against scams and fraud noted by the FBI and the FCA, this constant expansion spread of automatic distributors of crypto tickets has put the sector under regulatory projectors.
In February, Senator Dick Durbin (I-I), classification member of the Senate’s judicial committee, presented The Crypto ATM Fraud Prevention Act, “to help prevent crooks from stealing economies from Americans thanks to cryptocurrency diets”.
The bill would require, among other things, the automatic distributors of digital currency tickets to bring warnings to the risk of fraud; Prevent new users from spending more than $ 2,000 per day or $ 10,000 over a period of 14 days at Crypto ATM; require live verbal confirmation for any transaction greater than $ 500; And allow complete reimbursements when users table police reports and alert 30 days of their transactions.
Bill de Durbin Stay at the committee stadium In the Senate, and without any republican co-sponsors, it is a difficult way to make it the law. However, this shows at least one desire of certain American legislators to tackle the controversial sector of the automatic crypto counters – a cause which could be given in the light of the last advisory opinion of Fincen.
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