Crypto Kiosks Prey on Vulnerable New Jersey Seniors

New Jersey residents, particularly seniors, are falling victim to cryptocurrency kiosk scams. Marlene, an 80-year-old woman, lost $9,500 after being convinced by a scammer that her money was in danger and needed to be transferred immediately. The scammer used urgency and fear tactics, which led her to withdraw cash from her account and deposit it into a cryptocurrency kiosk.

The problem is widespread, with 369 complaints filed in New Jersey involving cryptocurrency kiosks in 2025, resulting in nearly $17.9 million in adjusted losses, according to the FBI. Nationally, over half of kiosk-related complaints involved people over 50.

Lawmakers are debating how to address this issue, with some proposing a ban on cryptocurrency ATMs and others suggesting stricter regulations, including licensing, warnings, fraud-screening tools, and live customer service. A separate proposal, the Virtual Currency Kiosk Consumer Protection Act, would require prominent scam warnings, operator licensing, blockchain analytics designed to block known fraudulent wallets, and live toll-free customer service.

The state should at minimum require strict transaction limits for new users, clear warnings that no legitimate government agency or business will demand payment through a crypto kiosk, live assistance, meaningful fraud detection, and a process for responding quickly when a customer reports that a transaction was induced by a scam.