Framingham, Massachusetts, has approved a ban on cryptocurrency ATMs after local authorities said residents lost a combined $397,000 in scams tied to the machines since 2023. The Framingham City Council passed the measure unanimously at a November meeting, according to local reporting.
City officials said the restriction is aimed at reducing fraud, particularly against seniors, non-English speakers and lower-income residents. The move adds Framingham to a growing list of Massachusetts communities that have adopted similar bans.
Council backs ban unanimously
The proposal was first introduced in October by District 3 Councilor Mary Kate Feeney. At the November council meeting, members voted unanimously to adopt the prohibition on crypto ATMs within the city.
Feeney said the measure was intended as a practical step to limit scams in Framingham, with a particular focus on protecting older residents who are often targeted by fraud schemes. Her comments framed the ban as a local response to repeated reports of financial harm involving the machines.
Losses reported in 10 cases
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said her office had received 10 cryptocurrency ATM scam cases in Framingham over the past three years. Those cases, she said, involved total reported losses of $397,000.
Ryan also argued that recovering money sent through these scams is especially difficult. Even when prosecutors are able to identify or successfully prosecute an alleged scammer, she said, authorities often cannot access the digital wallet holding the funds, and in many instances that wallet is located outside the United States.
How the city plans to enforce it
Under the new policy, police will notify businesses that host cryptocurrency ATMs that the machines must be disconnected within a set timeframe. The source article did not specify the exact deadline for removal or how many machines are currently operating in the city.
Officials presented the ban as a preventive measure rather than a response to a single incident, pointing to a pattern of scams reported since 2023. The city’s stated rationale centered on limiting opportunities for fraud carried out through kiosk-based crypto transactions.
Part of a wider state trend
Framingham is not acting alone. The city joins 22 other Massachusetts communities that have passed similar prohibitions on cryptocurrency ATMs.
The next confirmed step is the notification process for businesses hosting the machines, after which the kiosks are expected to be disconnected on the city’s timetable. Beyond that, the source material points mainly to the broader anti-fraud rationale behind the measure and the difficulty authorities say they face in tracing or recovering stolen funds.
Source: dailyhodl.com