A group of US Democratic senators have called on the ten largest crypto ATM operators to take immediate action against fraud that is targeting senior citizens in the US.

The letter was authored by Senators Dick Durbin, Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Jack Reed, Tina Smith, Peter Welch, and Sheldon Whitehouse. The appeal was addressed to Bitcoin Depot, CoinFlip, RockItCoin, Bitstop, Coinhub, Unbank, Athena Bitcoin, Byte Federal, Cash2Bitcoin, and Margo. The senators stated that the devices of these operators facilitate the spread of financial fraud.

Democrats noted that in the first half of the year, losses from Bitcoin fraud reached $65 million. Criminals most often targeted older Americans – people over 60 are three times more likely than younger people to report monetary losses through crypto ATMs.

In the letter, the senators cited a July Illinois Times story about an Illinois businessman removing a Coinhub cryptocurrency ATM from his store. The businessman claimed that the only people using it were victims of a cryptocurrency scam.

“Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, have long been associated with criminal activity. Their relative anonymity, the immutability of cryptocurrency transactions, and the availability of cryptocurrency ATMs give criminals an easy path to crime,” the senators said.

The Democrats asked in the letter: what actions are companies taking to combat scammers? Crypto ATM operators are required to provide information by October 4: whether they warn users about possible fraud, whether they set limits on transactions and deposits with bitcoin, and whether they provide insurance services to users.

In early September, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned that crypto ATM fraud had grown tenfold since 2020, exceeding $110 million in 2023. Meanwhile, California authorities have approved the introduction of a daily limit of $1,000 on crypto ATM withdrawals in order to combat fraudsters.