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BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) – The staff of West Virginia AARP are asking people to be wary of cryptocurrency scams.
Digital fraud schemes are becoming more common with crypto kiosks. These kiosks are designed to buy and sell digital currency using cash and debit cards. Legislation will be introduced to better regulate the types of kiosks often found in convenience stores and gas stations.
59news reached out to Tom Hunter, Associate President of AARP West Virginia to find out his thoughts. Hunter says his staff is taking a strong interest in fraud prevention. The organization is pushing for the various bills reflecting that.
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“The problems with these machines is that once the machines money is sent through these kiosks transfers can often not be reversed their typically going to criminal elements that are offshore that are outside of the United States which is precisely why criminals like this form of payment,” said Hunter
Hunter also says this legislation on cryptocurrency fraud is critical to protect vulnerable older West Virginians.
“These kiosks are currently unregulated, it’s the wild west in terms of how criminals using these particular types of machines to commit fraud and we’re just looking for the legislator in West Virginia to bring some guard rails bring some regulation,” continued Hunter
According to Hunter, seven and a half million dollars was stolen from West Virginias from crypto scams in 2024.
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