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5/28/2024
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Op-Ed: As scams become more sophisticated, we all must remain vigilant
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By Rep. Julie A. Casimiro and Sen. Victoria Gu
A concerning phone call in the middle of the night from a stranger or someone claiming to be an authority and saying a family member is in danger.
An email that appears to be sent from a loved one pleading for money.
An innocuous website link to donate to a worthy cause.
These instances, and many more, are how scammers insert themselves into your life and the lives of your loved ones.
And sadly, we are seeing the elderly being targeted by these techno-criminals at a concerning rate.
What grandmother wouldn’t want to help out their grandchild in an alarming or dangerous situation?
It is that loving mindset that allows these scammers to take advantage of our elderly population, sometimes getting away with thousands of dollars that can never be recovered. And with new and rapid advances in technology occurring daily, the ability of scammers to steal our money is increasing and becoming more sophisticated, with the ability to evade justice and accountability for their fraud and crimes.
This is why we introduced legislation to regulate cryptocurrency automatic teller machines (ATMs) in Rhode Island, to make it harder for our friends, family and loved ones to be scammed and stolen from by these malicious actors.
Currently, there are more than 120 crypto ATMs in Rhode Island’s convenience stores, laundromats, liquor stores, smoke shops and other establishments. They allow people to deposit cash and easily convert it into cryptocurrency, and they look a lot like regular ATMs. These machines have no transaction limits on them, making them extremely dangerous for our elderly residents being directed to use them in the process of being scammed. There is no limit to the amount a scammer can take from our residents in the transactions and once the process is complete, there is virtually no way for the money to be recovered after the scam is revealed.
FBI data shows that Rhode Islanders have lost a total of $2,245,844 to cryptocurrency scams in 2023.
The guardrails and regulations for crypto ATMs in our legislation will go a long way in helping to protect our population from being scammed with these machines. Daily transaction limits and clear and precise warnings about the nature of cryptocurrencies, how they operate, and how they could be utilized in sophisticated scams and crimes will hopefully give our residents pause if they were to receive a fraudulent phone call or email directing them to put their hard-earned money into a crypto ATM for the purposes of helping a loved one in need or paying off a fraudulent debt to the government or law enforcement.
New emerging technologies such as cryptocurrencies are exciting and often offer an easier or more streamlined daily life. But it’s important that we all know the dangers to ourselves and our bank accounts that too often come with new technology that can be exploited by criminals and those with bad intentions in their hearts.
This bill will hopefully help protect the residents of Rhode Island from falling prey to these alarming and surprising crimes, but as always, we also must stay vigilant and aware from being taken advantage of, because these scams grow more elaborate and complex by the day.
Rep. Julie A. Casimiro, a Democrat, represents District 31 in North Kingstown and Exeter. Sen. Victoria Gu, a Democrat, represents District 38 in Charlestown, Westerly and South Kingstown.
For more information, contact:
Andrew Caruolo, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401)222-6124
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