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Dennis Select Board directs staff to draft bylaw to ban cryptocurrency ATMs
Summary
After a presentation by a police detective and public-support testimony from local bank fraud professionals, the board voted to send draft language for a town-meeting bylaw banning cryptocurrency ATMs to the October warrant and asked staff to prepare the language.
Detective Mark Lambton of the Dennis Police Department presented regional and national fraud statistics tied to cryptocurrency ATMs and urged the town to pursue a local bylaw banning stand-alone kiosks. Lambton described the machines as frequent venues for scams, especially involving older residents, and cited Internet Crime Complaint Center figures showing large national losses tied to cryptocurrency ATM-related fraud.
“These are scam machines because that’s exactly what they are,” Lambton said, noting a currently nonfunctioning kiosk at a Cumberland Farms in South Dennis and saying local action can ‘stop the bleed’ while state legislation moves more slowly. He said local enforcement could include removal of machines once a bylaw is enacted.
Taryn Wilson, who heads fraud prevention at a local bank, told the board her staff regularly intercepts customers who intend to route cash to crypto kiosks and that frontline employees are trained to stop such transactions. “There’s no legitimate business reason for these ATMs to be in operation,” Wilson said, and she supported a local ban.
After discussion about the process and that a town bylaw and town-meeting warrant article are required, a board member moved and the board voted unanimously to direct staff to draft bylaw language for consideration at the October town meeting.
