FARGO, N.D. – Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner says he’s seen an increase of cryptocurrency scams.
Jahner has seen schemes where people are convinced to put up to $15,000 of their money into the kiosk to get the digital currency so others won’t have access to it. The money then goes into the suspect’s virtual wallet and they send it to multiple locations to stay ahead of law enforcement.
Financial institutions have 10 days to comply with a search warrant to provide records, but Jahner says the money is often spent by fraudsters by then.
“Our best option is to be able to prevent this activity rather than investigate it and be reactive. Typically probably less than one percent that we’re able to solve these crimes and get the money back to victims,” Jahner said.
A bill in the North Dakota legislature would prevent people from depositing more than $2,000 into a kiosk per day to get cryptocurrency. Warnings would be put on the machines saying “Consumer fraud often starts with contact from a stranger who is initiating a dishonest scheme. Kiosk operators would also have to have a compliance officer and have blockchain analytics software to detect and prevent suspicious activity.”
The measure was passed by the House and Senate. Since the Senate added amendments, the bill has gone back to the House.
