Springfield officials propose ban on cryptocurrency kiosks amid rise in scams

$1 million is the amount that dozens of Springfield residents have been scammed out of from cryptocurrency kiosks. 22 News reporter Arata Odaya is live in the studio with what the city and police department are doing to prevent another scam from happening. Yeah, that's right. The city of Springfield and the Springfield Police Department, both looking to eliminate the same kiosks that has resulted in residents losing their entire life savings. Nearly a million dollars. 49 individuals have been affected here in the city of Springfield. And also throughout the country, nearly $400 million has been reported stolen. It's money that many residents in the city of Springfield will never get back. Scammers spoof call you pretending to be an official trying to make people pay money through one of these Bitcoin ATMs, then stealing that money through a confirmation code. You'll typically find these machines in a gas station or a liquor store. Springfield Police Superintendent immediately hanging up after getting an interesting scam call himself. When I answered, it said, hello, this is Commissioner Lawrence Akers from the Springfield Police Department, and you have a warrant for your arrest, and we want to try to make sure that you don't get arrested, and I couldn't believe it. An ordinance has been drafted to ban the operation and installation of virtual currency kiosks in the city if, in effect, it would require the physical removal of all Springfield kiosks within 15 days. Violating the ordinance would then cost $300 per offense. Now this ordinance will be presented for the first time through the Public Safety Subcommittee sometime later this week or early next week. The chair of that subcommittee is Councilor Jerry Martin, and he says that he is on board with the ban. I plan to work very closely with Mayor Sarno in banning these kiosks. They are targeting our most vulnerable populations. These scams are unacceptable. Officials want to remind residents to pay attention, not fall for these scams, and if you have any questions, to hang up immediately and directly call the agency who supposedly called. December 7th is the next regular city council meeting, where the ordinance will again be brought forth, but to the entire council. And if passed, Springfield would join 20 other communities in Massachusetts with the ban. Working for you, Arata Odaya, 22 News.