Latest / In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson / Alabama Cracks Down on Crypto Kiosk Scams: New Laws Explained - TPR's In Focus - April 15, 2026

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Alabama Cracks Down on Crypto Kiosk Scams: New Laws Explained - TPR's In Focus - April 15, 2026 · In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson

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  Support comes from the Janice Hawkins Cultural Arts Park on the main campus of Troy University,
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  featuring the International Arts Center, the Fred Nall Hollis Museum, and the Hua Bao Zhu Gallery.
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  More information at troy.edu slash arts park.
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  From Troy Public Radio, this is In Focus, and I'm Carolyn Hutcheson.
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  April is an important month for paying income tax, but Amanda Senn, Director of the Alabama
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  Securities Commission, visits the exchange today with a much bigger picture in mind.
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  Amanda Senn, welcome back to Troy Public Radio's exchange from the Alabama Securities Commission.
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  Thanks, Carolyn. Always a pleasure to be with you.
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  Amanda, you have been busy with the Alabama legislature. Give us the latest.
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  We have, and I'm very pleased to announce that we have two new pieces of legislation
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  that affect the financial industry in Alabama. The first one that passed officially is our
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  Cryptocurrency Kiosk Fraud Prevention Bill, and our second one is our Stablecoin Issuer License Bill.
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  And so our legislators have been very busy on many pieces of legislation, but we're thankful
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  for their work on these two key pieces.
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  From a consumer and investor perspective, these two bills are very important.
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  That's right. I'll mention first the Cryptocurrency Kiosk Fraud Prevention Bill.
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  We, over the past several years, have been receiving hundreds of reports of people losing money
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  by depositing into Bitcoin or crypto ATMs, and these machines have been operating in our state.
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  They're in gas stations and drugstores across the state, and there have been no parameters
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  sort of around how they can operate and how much money can be deposited into the machines
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  and issues that will address the disclosures that they're required to make.
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  And so it's been an easy mechanism for fraudsters to help steal money because of the lack of regulation
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  and the easy ways in which fraudsters can use cryptocurrency to avoid being tracked or traced.
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  And that's not to say that we don't have some regulations, but these machines are so new
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  that the law just has yet to catch up to these machines.
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  And Amanda, I know someone in another state that just got scammed by one of these and lost money.
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  And on the other hand, the Stablecoin bill, what does that do?
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  So the Stablecoin itself is a type of cryptocurrency that is backed by very liquid reserves.
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  For example, a U.S. dollar or a Treasury bill, something that can be easily converted to cash
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  that someone can pull out immediately.
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  And so Stablecoins have become a popular type of cryptocurrency,
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  so popular that last year Congress passed a law that allowed companies to issue Stablecoins.
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  The difference between a Stablecoin and maybe a credit card transaction or a bank wire transfer
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  is that Stablecoin is transferred through the blockchain.
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  So blockchain technology is like an electronic ledger.
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  And under the congressional law last year, it allowed states to also offer Stablecoin licenses.
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  So Florida was the first just a few weeks ago,
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  and Alabama will be the second state to have a Stablecoin license option.
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  So some financial companies could come to Alabama and say,
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  hey, we want to get licensed with you.
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  And we would oversee those companies and ensure that they are properly licensed, regulated,
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  and doing business in the way that continues to promote integrity in our financial markets.
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  Again, another victory for the consumers and investors.
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  Amanda, you well know that April is tax time.
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  What can you add?
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  Well, it's also savings and investing month.
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  And we are delighted that Governor Ivey declared April as savings and investing month
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  and also fraud awareness month.
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  So April is a big time.
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  It's a time to pay your taxes and also to focus on saving money so that you can afford to pay taxes later
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  and invest money so that you can get your money working for you.
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  And it all plays in because fraud is also a part of personal financial health
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  and being fiscally responsible because the more that technology evolves,
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  fraudsters are able to get at our money and cyber criminals,
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  and that detracts from our ability to save and invest and be more prosperous financially.
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  So April is an exciting month all around in the financial world,
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  and I'm happy to talk about all of that.
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  All of these emphases this month go back to financial literacy.
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  And the Alabama Securities Commission has been hard at work on the issue of financial literacy.
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  So can you get us up to date on that?
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  I'm glad you said that because financial literacy provides the foundation for success
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  in terms of personal finance.
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  I think you'll recall just a few years ago, Alabama, our legislators,
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  passed a law that says personal finance must be taught in high school.
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  And we couldn't have been more thrilled.
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  Of course, we supported the bill.
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  I know everyone did.
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  But if you don't have a solid foundation as a young person,
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  once you start a career in earning money,
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  we have witnessed firsthand how the lack of financial education can put people
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  in such severe financial distress that causes them to fail financially for the rest of their lives.
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  We have cases that involve victims that if they had just known
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  and understood how the stock market works or how credit card transactions are processed
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  or how a checkbook works, that they could have avoided becoming victimized
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  by these criminals who like to take advantage of our lack of knowledge.
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  And it also teaches you healthy principles upon which you can build a financial future,
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  like saving money and investing, getting your money to work for you.
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  And the more you can practice these principles, and we have to be disciplined.
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  I know I have to be disciplined, especially in the area of saving.
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  We can really set ourselves up to be more comfortable
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  and live less of a stressful life when it comes to our finances.
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  Amanda, you know the state of the economy is in flux right now.
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  We have the question about inflation and associated problems.
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  So the Alabama Securities Commission can help educate people
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  who go to your website and learn about these things.
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  Yes, we have information about the types of financial fraud that are happening
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  so you can avoid becoming a victim of fraud.
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  We have information about how to start a budget.
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  Very simple steps that if you're new to budgeting or if you just want a refresher,
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  we have a worksheet. It's very simple. You just enter the information.
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  We have information about investing.
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  What we don't have yet, and I hope to include soon,
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  are different types of technologies that will help you start saving and investing.
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  We talk a lot about artificial intelligence and how it can get a bad rap
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  because of all of the opportunities for fraudsters to use it against us.
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  But there are also some really neat tools that artificial intelligence provides
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  that helps us with financial management, like savings apps or investment.
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  They offer investment strategies, and many of them you can download on your phone
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  and it'll tell you exactly what to do.
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  So there's a lot of that, and we hope to include a little short page primer
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  on how to get started using technology to help you with how to save and invest properly.
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  So what you're saying is it's more important now than ever to get financially literate,
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  and the website can help us do that.
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  Yes, there's all types of information there.
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  And the more you know, the more successful you can be, and knowledge is power.
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  So especially in the world of finances and with our economy being in such flux
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  and maybe now is the time to start investing, you can buy the dip.
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  And when the stock market picks back up, you can actually look at your results
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  and the returns of your money, and it's very encouraging.
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  So it's never too late to start.
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  In all phases of life, it is appropriate to apply responsible financial principles.
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  So check out the website.
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  You can call us if you need guidance or are interested in talking to a financial planner
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  if you feel like that is more appropriate for you to do at that time.
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  But please reach out to the Alabama Securities Commission if we can help you get started
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  or just provide some words of encouragement for a healthy financial future.
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  And how can your listeners get in touch?
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  1-800-222-1253.
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  Our website is ASC, as in Alabama Securities Commission, abbreviated, .alabamaspelledout.gov.
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  Call us or reach out anytime.
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  Thanks for your advice, Amanda.
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  Carolyn, always glad to talk with you.
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  That was Amanda Senn, Director of the Alabama Securities Commission.
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  Thanks for joining us today for the Exchange from InFocus.
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  Our program is a podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
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  I'm Carolyn Hutcheson, and this is listener-supported Troy Public Radio.