NEWS RELEASE
New Florida Law Cracks Down on Crypto ATM Scams After Push from Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly
Date:Wednesday, July 8, 2026
BUNNELL, Fla. — The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is applauding a new Florida law cracking down on cryptocurrency kiosk scams after Sheriff Rick Staly personally raised the issue with state lawmakers and helped shape the legislation.
House Bill 505 takes effect January 1, 2027, and requires cryptocurrency kiosk operators statewide to register with the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, post clear fraud warnings on kiosk screens, and use blockchain analytics to block transfers to wallets tied to known criminal activity. The law also caps daily transactions at $2,000 for new customers and $10,000 for existing customers, requires a printed or digital receipt for every transaction, and requires kiosk operators to refund a customer’s first fraudulent transaction within 72 hours of a timely report.
Sheriff Staly began pushing for the regulations in 2025 for crypto ATM’s after FCSO’s Cyber Crimes Unit identified the issues with unregulated kiosk transactions and the difficulty in tracking the crypto currency using blockchain technology and crypto wallets. The new law now closes many of these loopholes and warns people they may be the victim of fraud.
Sheriff Staly directed FCSO’s general counsel to research the legislation being used in other states and draft a legislative proposal. Staly then brought the proposal to the Florida Sheriffs Association Legislative Committee and spoke to state lawmakers on the need for crypto ATM regulation, just like the existing bank ATM regulations. Legislators built on that groundwork with House Bill 505, which passed the Florida House 107-0, which Governor DeSantis signed into law on June 26.
The new law delivers much of what Sheriff Staly championed: mandatory registration for every kiosk operator in Florida, upfront fraud warnings, blockchain analytics that block transfers to known criminal wallets, daily transaction limits, and a guaranteed refund for victims within 72 hours of a timely fraud report. The one piece that didn’t survive the legislative process was a proposed 24-hour hold on kiosk transactions that would have given customers a window to cancel the transaction before their money was moved.
“This is a huge win for Flagler County and Florida, especially for our seniors who often fall prey to these scammers,” said Sheriff Staly. “Crypto kiosk scammers have stolen millions from Floridians. This law finally holds these kiosk operators accountable and gives victims a real path to get their money back. While we didn’t get everything we asked for, this is a great start and gives our Cyber Crimes Unit detective the tools they need.”
Sheriff Staly thanks AARP Florida, whose advocacy helped drive HB 505 to passage; the Florida Sheriffs Association and the fellow Florida sheriffs who recognized this problem and supported the law; and the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Michael Owen, Rep. Dan Daley, and Sen. Darryl Rouson, for championing this legislation on behalf of Florida’s most residents.
In the past two years, unregulated crypto kiosks have been used to facilitate more than $2.75 million in fraudulent transfers from Flagler County residents, most of it stolen from retirees and senior citizens. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office urges Flagler Residents who believe they’ve been the target of a crypto kiosk scam to contact the non-emergency line at 386-313-4911.
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