Crypto Kiosk Scams Hit Texas. HB 271 Would Pull the Plug.

A stranger calls your grandmother. He tells her to pull cash from the bank and feed it into a machine at the gas station. Day one of bill filing, an East Texas lawmaker filed a bill to pull that machine out of the wall.

Plain English

On November 9, 2026, Rep. Joanne Shofner of House District 11 filed HB 271 for the 2027 session. (FACT, Texas Legislature Online)

It does not regulate crypto kiosks. It bans them.

The bill adds a new Chapter 161 to the Texas Finance Code. It would be a crime to knowingly own or operate a virtual currency kiosk in Texas. It would also be a crime to knowingly let someone put one on property you own, lease, or control. (FACT, bill text)

The penalty is a Class A misdemeanor. In Texas that means up to a year in county jail, a fine up to $4,000, or both. (FACT, Penal Code 12.21)

If it passes, it takes effect September 1, 2027. (FACT, bill text)

Why it matters

These are the machines that look like ATMs. You put cash in. Crypto goes out to a wallet. Once it is gone, it is gone.

The FBI says that in 2025 its Internet Crime Complaint Center got more than 13,400 complaints involving crypto kiosks, with losses over $388 million. That is a 58% jump in losses from 2024. More than half of the complaints came from people over 50, with losses over $302 million. (FACT, FBI IC3 alert I-051526-PSA)

The FBI also says those losses cannot be pinned on the kiosks alone, because some complaints include other kinds of payments too. (FACT, same alert)

The Texas Tribune reported that almost 1,200 Texans lost a combined $56.8 million in kiosk scams, citing that FBI data, and that an estimated 4,000 kiosks are installed in Texas. (DOCUMENTED INFERENCE, Texas Tribune, July 8, 2026)

The receipt

This is not the first try.

In 2025, SB 1705 would have put the Texas Department of Banking over these kiosks with an administrative penalty. Its last recorded action was May 27, 2025: placed on the House General State Calendar. It did not become law. (FACT, SB 1705 history)

The Tribune reported that kiosk bills passed the House and the Senate in 2025 but no bill got through both chambers. (DOCUMENTED INFERENCE, Texas Tribune)

The Tribune also reported Rep. Cole Hefner of Mount Pleasant saying of the kiosks, "we just need to get rid of them," and Rep. Mitch Little of Lewisville saying, "I don't think we should just step in and ban things." (DOCUMENTED INFERENCE, Texas Tribune)

Other outlets report that some states have banned the machines and others have capped how much a person can put in each day. Which states, and what each law does, NEEDS AUTHENTICATION against each state's own statute.

What Ryan says

Every family in East Texas knows somebody who got that call. It is always the same play. Fear first. Then urgency. Then "do not tell your bank."

The machine at the end of that call is not a neighbor. It is a pipe.

Austin had a bill to put rules on these kiosks last session. It died on a calendar. Meanwhile the losses went up.

So now we have a bill that says shut it down.

I want this bill heard. In public. With the numbers on the table.

Three questions I want answered in that hearing.

How many Texas kiosk dollars are scams, and how many are honest buyers? Show me the data, not a guess.

Why punish the store owner who rents out a corner, and not the operator who runs the network? The bill hits both. Say why.

If not a ban, what actually stops the bleeding? A daily cap? A hold on first-time buyers? Refunds for victims?

Protect the grandparents first. Then argue about the rest.

What this does not prove

It does not prove every kiosk is a scam. Some people use them for honest reasons.

It does not prove the $388 million national number is all kiosk money. The FBI says it is not.

It does not prove HB 271 will pass. It was filed today. No hearing. No vote. No committee yet.

What it does prove

A bill to ban crypto kiosks in Texas is on file, in writing, with a criminal penalty and an effective date.

The FBI's own numbers show kiosk scam complaints and losses climbing, and older people taking most of the hit.

A softer bill to regulate the machines died last session.

The bottom line

Same machines. Bigger losses. A new bill.

This time, hold the hearing and show the numbers.

Do not threaten anyone. Do not harass anyone. Do not contact anyone in my name. Read it. Share it. Send receipts, evidence, witnesses. Put eyes on the record.