Michigan sees rise in Bitcoin kiosk scams
Bitcoin kiosk. Credit: City of Minnetonka, Minnesota.
by Jack Lukas, Capital News Service
Financial scams involving bitcoin kiosks are being increasingly reported across the state.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 368 complaints were filed with the agency related to bitcoin kiosks scams, with an estimated loss of $12 million in 2025.
Bitcoin is a virtual currency that is used as an investment and a form of goods and services. It operates without government or banking oversight.
Bitcoin kiosks or crypto ATMs allow consumers to have a physical, self-serve station that works like a normal ATM but is only for bitcoin transactions.
Scammers prey on the public’s lack of familiarity with cryptocurrency, according to the Michigan Consumer Protection Team website.
“The victim often receives a fraudulent message or phone call claiming to be from a well-known company. They are then instructed to withdraw large amounts of cash from their bank accounts,” according to the Michigan Consumer Protection Team, which is part of the Attorney General’s Office.
The cash is inserted into a kiosk, converted into bitcoin, and the depositor is instructed to send the receipt or QR code from the transaction to the scammer.
“Traditonally, bank transactions have fraud prevention measures, but these kiosks provide protection to the scammers rather than the consumer,” according to the team.
Torey Johns, a detective sergeant with State Police’s Cryptocurrency Investigation Unit, said most of these scams look identical.
“Recently, I worked on a case where the victim thought they were receiving a call from the FBI and they had a warrant out for her arrest. She was instructed to give them thousands of dollars through one of these kiosks, and it is almost always impossible to get the victims money back,” Johns said.
“The scams are always evolving, and it’s getting harder and harder to catch them,” Johns said. States
Thomas Holt, a professor at Oakland University and the director of the Center for Cybercrime Investigation and Training, said cryptocurrency has become an easier way for criminals to steal money and is more anonymous than a traditional wire transfer, money order or a gift card scam.
“This is because you are sending money directly from one wallet to another. The way that cryptocurrency in general works is that it involves publicly writing exchanges between wallets on what’s called the block chain,” Holt said.
“All the police know is that wallet one sent money to wallet two. Police need to know who the owners of these accounts are, but scammers commonly use fake names or locations which makes it impossible to track,” Holt said.
Jason Lachowski, the AARP’s associate director of advocacy, said that older people are particularly at risk.
“Over 75% of all reported losses were by people 60 years or older,” said Lachowski.
AARP is pushing for protections but prefers legislation that would outlaw bitcoin kiosks, said Lachowski.
“An estimated 90% of all bitcoin kiosk transactions were involved in some type of fraud in 2025 so we are in support of a Senate bill, which would ban bitcoin kiosks around the state,” he said.
The lead sponsor is Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor.
The bill unanimously passed the Finance, Insurance and Consumer Protection Committee in October and is awaiting action by the full Senate. Lachowski said he hopes it passes by the end of the year.
In 2026, Indiana and Minnesota became the first states to ban bitcoin kiosks. Those laws passed unanimously and bills have been introduced in 35 states to ban or heavily regulate them, he said.
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