Miami Police: “Cryptomats are being used to launder criminal proceeds”

Cybercrime detectives in South Florida have noticed that a growing network of crypto ATMs is becoming part of a scheme to launder the criminal proceeds of criminal groups.

Miami Police concluded that the prerequisite for this was gaps in the regulation of the industry, which allow criminals to launder money received from drug trafficking, robbery or other illegal activities through crypto assets.

According to the latest statistics data, there are more than 50,000 devices in the US. There are many reasons why the popularity of cryptomats is growing – they are convenient and attractive for both small businesses and ordinary market participants. For example, retail outlet owners receive rent for installing cryptomats and a percentage of transactions, and users can easily buy or exchange cryptocurrencies. However, the ease with which people gain access to the crypto asset market cannot but be of concern to law enforcement.

Miami Police Sergeant Bridget Doyle of the South Florida Cybercrime Center Task Force said that small drug dealers can hire a minor for a couple of dollars to enter a crypto wallet address and deposit cash into an account through a crypto ATM. And while most devices video record transactions, and some even ask you to scan your driver’s license, scammers can easily bypass these restrictions.

“When criminals start laundering money through ATMs, the first thing they do is look for new identities. As for checking the address of a crypto wallet, it changes with every transaction and it is very difficult for the police to trace it,” Doyle said.

Therefore, the sergeant doubts that public authorities should allow the expansion of the network of cryptomats, the operations of which leave almost no financial footprint.

Last year, U.S. ATM operators formed the Cryptocurrency Compliance Cooperative (CCC) to increase security and comply with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations when making crypto transactions.