BUNNELL, Fla. — A new Florida law will place more restrictions on cryptocurrency kiosks after scammers used the machines to steal millions from Flagler County residents, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
House Bill 505 takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. The law requires cryptocurrency kiosk operators to register with the Florida Office of Financial Regulation and display fraud warnings on kiosk screens.
The law also requires operators to use blockchain analytics to block transfers to crypto wallets tied to known criminal activity.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said his office pushed for the legislation after the agency’s Cyber Crimes Unit identified problems with unregulated kiosk transactions.
“In the past two years, unregulated crypto kiosks have been used to facilitate more than $2.75 million in fraudulent transfers from Flagler County residents, most of it stolen from retirees and senior citizens,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The new law caps daily transactions at $2,000 for new customers and $10,000 for existing customers.
It also requires kiosk operators to provide a printed or digital receipt for every transaction.
Under the law, operators must refund a customer’s first fraudulent transaction within 72 hours if the report is made in time, according to the sheriff’s office.
“This is a huge win for Flagler County and Florida, especially for our seniors who often fall prey to these scammers,” Staly said in a statement. “Crypto kiosk scammers have stolen millions from Floridians.”
The sheriff’s office said one proposal that did not make it into the final law was a 24-hour hold on kiosk transactions, which would have allowed customers time to cancel a transaction before the money was moved.
The bill passed the Florida House 107-0 and was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on June 26, according to the sheriff’s office.
Anyone in Flagler County who believes they were targeted in a crypto kiosk scam is asked to call the sheriff’s office non-emergency line at 386-313-4911.
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