Monetary fraud is now not a distant drawback for Kansans. It’s reaching folks the place they reside, store and talk on daily basis.
Seniors, working households and people on fastened incomes are more and more being focused by criminals who exploit new applied sciences quicker than present shopper protections can sustain.
These scams vary from acquainted textual content message fraud to extremely refined cryptocurrency schemes that funnel life financial savings via digital kiosks and abroad wallets. Victims are sometimes guided step-by-step by criminals, pressured to behave rapidly and left with little recourse as soon as the cash is gone.
For a lot of Kansas households, the monetary and emotional injury is everlasting.
The scope of the issue is rising quickly. In keeping with the FBI’s Web Crime Grievance Heart, Individuals reported roughly $9.3 billion in cryptocurrency-related losses in 2024 alone.
Kansas has seen a troubling variety of these circumstances tied to Bitcoin ATMs and digital kiosks positioned in on a regular basis retail settings, the place victims are coached in actual time to transform money into digital belongings which are practically unattainable to get well.
Whereas most Kansans are accustomed to freeway toll fee scams or package deal supply textual content scams, the fraud we’re seeing right this moment is much extra organized and manipulative. These schemes are designed to construct belief, exploit worry and transfer cash earlier than victims have time to query what is occurring. Retirement accounts are being drained, financial savings worn out and households left with out solutions.
Kansas legislation should maintain tempo with this actuality.
This session, the Kansas Legislature is prioritizing the safety of shoppers from digital asset fraud via two focused reforms geared toward stopping scams sooner and decreasing hurt when fraud is suspected.
One proposal focuses on cryptocurrency kiosks and digital forex transactions. It strengthens oversight, requires clear and significant fraud warnings, closes anonymity loopholes, and introduces cooling-off intervals and refund protections.
These measures are supposed to provide Kansans, particularly seniors, a crucial window to acknowledge fraud earlier than their financial savings are completely misplaced.
A second proposal addresses the position of monetary establishments when warning indicators are current. Below present legislation, monetary establishments typically lack clear authority to pause transactions or alert trusted contacts, even when fraud seems possible. This reform permits restricted transaction holds and reporting so potential scams might be investigated earlier than irreversible injury happens.
Kansas is appearing to guard its residents within the face of a quickly evolving menace. I’d hope that Federal policymakers are additionally engaged on these points.
We must always all place shopper safety on the heart of our legislative priorities.
Clear guidelines, robust enforcement and significant accountability are important to closing the gaps scammers exploit and we’re targeted on laws that may shield you and your loved ones members.
Sen. Brenda Dietrich, R-Topeka, is the chair of the Senate Committee on Monetary Establishments and Insurance coverage.
