Texans Lost $57M to Crypto Kiosk Scams as State Weighs Ban

Texans lost $56.8 million to cryptocurrency kiosks last year, more than any other state, according to FBI figures put before a legislative committee on Thursday. The state accounted for 1,179 of the 13,460 complaints the bureau logged nationally in 2025, a year in which reported losses to the machines rose 58% to $389 million.

The kiosks take cash and convert it to crypto, and sit in gas stations and convenience stores. The Texas Tribune counts about 4,000 across the state. Scammers persuade victims to withdraw money from their bank accounts and feed it into a machine.

The House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans' Affairs took invited testimony on foreign financial influence and turned quickly to crypto. "In my career, I've never seen a more efficient, cleaner way to steal money," Rep. AJ Louderback said. Kelley Currie, an Atlantic Council fellow, told the committee that Interpol now treats scamming as an industry comparable to drug and human trafficking.

Currie went further, saying the kiosks in gas stations "are run by Chinese money launderers." The Justice Department has charged Chinese nationals over crypto fraud compounds in Southeast Asia and prosecuted Chinese money laundering networks moving scam proceeds, but has not said those groups generally operate kiosks.