Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio
GLOUCESTER, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Gloucester City Council recently voted to ban Bitcoin ATMs in their city over concerns of rising scams that have mostly targeted senior citizens.
Bitcoin ATMs are ATMs that allow people to exchange cash or money from their debit cards for online cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.
“They’re very easy to use as a scam device,” said Gloucester Mayor Greg Verga.
“[The scammer] basically call[s] them and say[s] ‘you need to transfer money to this bitcoin account to bail out your grandson, they’ve been arrested in Georgia’ or all these other things to scare them or they’re late on a payment for something, it’s really frightening that, that many people have been scammed out of that much money,” he continued.
Elise Sinagra, Director of Elder Services in Gloucester, said the city is making efforts to keep people informed and up to date on scams like these.
“It’s like whack-a-mole, you get people trained that that’s a fraud and then the fraudsters get clever and find some other way to take people’s money,” said Sinagra.
In just 2025 alone around $11 million has been stolen from victims in Essex County though the use of Bitcoin ATMs, according to the Gloucester City Council.
Gloucester City Council President Tony Gross said the city, along with local law enforcement “drafted an ordinance that would prohibit these virtual currency kiosks in Gloucester because they are excellent tools for scammers, particularly for our most vulnerable populations, the elderly and the young.”
Gross said it’s difficult for scam victims to get their money back because it “can go to a dozen different accounts.”
“It just makes it simpler for the scammers to succeed,” Gross said
The City Council President also mentioned statistics from the F.B.I. that show a rise in crimes and scams such as these.
“According to the F.B.I. there was a 99 percent increase in complaints related to virtual currency kiosks in 2024,” he said.
When asked if there are any more Bitcoin ATMs in Gloucester Gross said, “There are two, one’s at a convenience store and another one’s at a supermarket…they have 30 days to discontinue that use.”
Gross said the city council voted unanimously and “enthusiastically” for the ban.
“We worked cooperatively with city legal; the mayor of the city gave it his blessing [he] thought this was a good idea and the Essex County’s DA’s office was very instrumental and also Ward 5 and Council Vice President Sean Nolan was the one who pushed this forward first…he brought me on board,” Gross said.
Other cities in Massachusetts such as Waltham have also approved bans on Bitcoin ATMs.
WBZ NewsRadio has reached out to BTC Inc., the company behind Bitcoin Magazine and The Bitcoin Conference, for comment. WBZ NewsRadio’s James Rojas (@JamesRojasMMJ) reports.