Minnesota bans crypto kiosks after scammers used them to drain savings

Minnesota has banned crypto kiosks. The ban took effect Aug. 1. These are machines, often found in stores, that scammers have used to pull money out of people's bank accounts. Indiana, Vermont and Tennessee have also banned them, with those bans starting in 2026.

What changed

Minnesota passed a weaker law in 2024. It added rules meant to protect residents from kiosk scams. The state Department of Commerce says those rules did not work, because complaints kept rising. So lawmakers went further and banned the machines outright.

The department says complaints tied to crypto kiosk scams cost Minnesota victims nearly $1 million from 2023 through 2025. Experts say real losses are far higher, because many people never report or report to other agencies. One person lost more than $33,000 in 2025. Another lost nearly $20,000 this year.

Why the 2024 rules fell short

Scammers found ways around the new rules. Sara Payne, the department's assistant commissioner for enforcement, says they split big payments into smaller ones to stay under a new daily limit. They also went after older people and people who are not tech savvy.

Those victims leaned on the scammer's advice instead of what the machine showed. "Most people aren't familiar with the crypto kiosks, and [scammers] would stay with victims on the phone and literally walk them through the process," Payne says.

A close call

Sister Agnes Foley of St. Paul, in her late 80s, got a call in March 2025 from someone she thought worked at her bank. The caller told her to withdraw money and send it elsewhere through a crypto kiosk at a liquor store. She drove there but left her phone in the car so the caller could not follow what was happening.

A store employee told her there had been "funny things" happening with the machine. She went home without making a transaction and told an IT staffer where she lives. She later testified before the Minnesota Legislature. "I wanted the story to be out there," she says.

Who pushed for the ban

AARP Minnesota helped rally support for the bipartisan bill. It joined a coalition that included the Department of Commerce, the attorney general's office, law enforcement agencies and scam victims. State director Cathy McLeer says kiosk scams chip away at financial security, and that losing it can cost people their health security and independence.

What to do

• If a caller tells you to move money through a crypto kiosk, it is a scam.
• Hang up, even if the caller says they are from your bank.
• Tell someone you trust before you do anything with your money.