JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The U.S. Secret Service is launching a campaign in Florida to warn people about bitcoin ATMs.
State law enforcement and federal agents teamed up to put up signs at dozens of Bitcoin ATMs across the state. An investigator said at a law enforcement briefing, “I would just go in and say, ‘hey secret service, we’re going to put this up either on your Bitcoin ATM or is there another location you want us to put it so that people can see it?’”
While the machines are legal, agents say con men are using scare tactics to convince people to move their money to digital accounts.
“All the merchants that we’ve been with have been very cooperative, they are willing to put these up because they understand the scams that’s been going on and they want to work with law enforcement,” Agent Matthew Roberts said.
In 2023, the Federal Trade Commission estimates Americans lost more than $1 billion in schemes involving cryptocurrency transactions.
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The U.S. Secret Service has already run similar door-to-door poster campaigns at businesses in Washington D.C. and Tennessee.