Westfield City Council Cracks Down on Bitcoin Scams

The Westfield City Council is moving forward with an ordinance to ban bitcoin machines in the city due to concerns about cryptocurrency scams.

Councilor Bill Onyski, chair of the License and Ordinance Committee, said that a high percentage of transactions are fraudulent in nature due to scams. According to Detective Jason Williams, who investigates scams and frauds in the department, 80% to 90% of all bitcoin machine transactions are fraudulent.

The Federal Trade Commission reported $12 million in losses related to bitcoin machines in 2020, which jumped to $110 million by 2023. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported losses of $333 million last year, with the average loss at about $9,000. The average age of those victimized is 65.

The proposed ordinance would give store owners with the machines 60 days to remove them, and failure to do so would result in being fined $300 per day until the machine is removed. Several towns in the commonwealth have already banned the machines, including Waltham, Gloucester, Haverhill, Ipswich, and South Hadley.