An effort to better protect Delaware consumers from cryptocurrency kiosk scams stalled in the General Assembly in 2026, leaving lawmakers and consumer advocates concerned that older adults remain vulnerable to a growing form of financial fraud.
House Bill 441, sponsored by State Rep. Cyndie Romer, D-Newark, passed unanimously in the Delaware House with bipartisan support but never advanced out of a Senate committee before lawmakers adjourned in June.
The legislation initially proposed requiring warning signs and consumer protections at cryptocurrency kiosks. After discussions with consumer advocates, law enforcement and banking officials, lawmakers amended the proposal to ban the kiosks altogether, arguing the machines had become a primary tool used by scammers to steal money from victims.
Walk into many convenience stores, gas stations, or liquor stores across Delaware, and you'd likely find a cryptocurrency kiosk.
The machines allow customers to convert cash into digital currency. But consumer advocates said they've also become one of the fastest-growing tools used by scammers, who often convince victims to deposit thousands of dollars before the money disappears into digital wallets that are nearly impossible to trace.
Mike Lawson with the Delaware Bankers Association said his organization sees these scams far too often, "The bitcoin ATMs are being used as a pool to transfer cash to a digital wallet that is most likely overseas in a foreign country that is very hard to trace and very hard to get back once the fraud is made aware, as far as it being a fraudulent transaction.”
Lawson said scammers frequently impersonate government agencies, banks or law enforcement officers, convincing victims their bank accounts have been compromised or that they owe money immediately. He said Delaware has more than 150 of these machines located in businesses across the state.
“We have safeguards on our end to ask certain questions because we know about it and we can stop it if we feel as if they're being scammed. But a lot of times they're being coached, and coached to say it’s for a renovation, it's for a trip or a vacation, or it's to purchase high dollar items such as a car, investments, etc.,” he said.
Older adults are among those most frequently targeted, according to AARP Delaware.
Kim Wharton, Associate State Director of Advocacy for AARP Delaware, said seniors are particularly vulnerable because many have spent decades building their retirement savings and often have less opportunity to recover financially after losing money.
"They’re targeted a lot of times because they have more money to lose. They have a lifetime of savings sitting there. And lack of knowledge can be part of it — about the digital world — however, we're seeing that that's starting to pivot a little bit. That's why AARP thinks it’s so important to educate our members and all consumers about these different scams so that they can, sort of, protect themselves from losing their hard earned money,” Wharton said.
According to AARP, scammers often create a false sense of urgency by claiming a victim's bank account has been hacked or that their money is no longer safe. Victims are instructed to withdraw cash and immediately deposit it into a cryptocurrency kiosk.
Wharton said that's exactly why education remains crucial, "Well AARP’s fraud watch network talks about knowledge being power when it comes to being scammed. We tell people that they should think before they act, think before they click that link. Don’t act impulsively. A lot of these scammers try to get you emotional or to act on the spur of the moment or to act very quickly and so that's one of the big things that we try to educate people about — our members, and all Delawareans. Don't be impulsive."
Concern over those scams prompted State Representative Cyndie Romer to introduce House Bill 441 during the 2026 legislative session.
The proposal initially focused on requiring warning signs and consumer protections at cryptocurrency kiosks. But after conversations with consumer advocates, law enforcement and banking officials, the legislation evolved into a proposal that would ban the kiosks altogether.
She said what she learned while researching the issue convinced her stronger action was necessary, “There's a machine in the highlands, like Trolley Square area and one of the people who was working on the legislation with us said that they went in one day and said “oh that's new.” And the clerk said “yeah i've only seen two people use it.” One was an elderly woman driven in a van by a young guy, came in two days in a row. An elderly woman coming two days in a row to deposit cash into an atm! And the other was also an elderly person.”
House Bill 441 passed unanimously in the Delaware House with bipartisan support.
Organizations including AARP Delaware, the Delaware Bankers Association, and the Delaware Department of Justice all backed the proposal.
Despite that support, the legislation stalled in a Senate committee before lawmakers adjourned.
Romer said she spent the final days of the legislative session trying to rally support, "Two responded back to me. Senator Walsh was a yes and I could not get answers of yes or no from any other senators on this bill. Even though it had support of the AARP, the delaware bankers association, the department of justice, the league of women voters, constituents emailing, the council on police chiefs, the FOP and it couldn't even get out of committee.”
State Senator Spiros Mantzavinos sponsored House Bill 441 in the Senate. He believed the bill stalled because of the timing of the legislation, not because lawmakers opposed the proposal itself.
"Obviously, I’m very disappointed that we weren't able to get it done. I think what happened was we had a committee hearing scheduled. I believe it was the last Wednesday in June and again, this was my committee — business banking insurance and technology — and generally when we have very robust committee hearings where all members have an opportunity to hear both sides. Unfortunately given the schedules that we had this year, the committee members were in other places due to other commitments,” he said.
Mantzavinos didn't believe the bill itself needed to change before lawmakers considered it again in 2027. Instead, he said raising awareness about these scams was just as important, “As the prime Senate sponsor, I’m fully supportive of the work that Representative Romer did on this bill, and fully and certainly the importance of it.”
Mantzavinos said it wasn't until organizations like AARP began raising concerns that he realized just how widespread cryptocurrency kiosk scams had become among older Delawareans.
"I do a lot of work on legislation on seniors and around aging, I don't know if you're aware but i have my caucus on aging that i co-chair with representative kendra johnson, and certainly a lot of the work I've done over the past few years comes to assistant living and skilled nearing facilities and all that so i work with aarp alot and they came and said look hey this is an issue and ill be honest with you it was a surprise to me when they first when they first brought it to my attention because I chair business banking insurance and technology, I was unaware you know that there were these types of technology and these kiosks that even existed,” he said.
Romer said she had no intention of letting the proposal end there.
She said, "I am absolutely committed to bringing back this legislation. And I know that the attorney general is willing and ready to help me with anything I can do to get this done.”
Until lawmakers take up the issue again, Lawson said Delaware consumers needed to remain cautious.
"At the end of the day, it's all about consumer protection. Who's protecting our consumers from falling victim to this type of scam,” he said.
In the meantime, officials said residents should be skeptical of anyone demanding payment through cryptocurrency.
Government agencies, banks and law enforcement will never ask someone to protect their money by depositing cash into a cryptocurrency kiosk.
Lily Grossberg is a Delaware Public Media summer intern, a recent graduate of the Univ. of Delaware and a member of the initial set of Univ. of Delaware Statehouse News Fellows program that DPM partnered with UD on, in 2026.