Livingston Enterprise
Dan Astin Enterprise Staff Writer
James Brown, Montana’s state auditor and commissioner of securities and insurance, visited Livingston and Big Timber this week and warned the public about scams involving cryptocurrency.
“We are seeing a huge uptick in fraud schemes involving digital currencies in 2025,” Brown told the Enterprise on Tuesday.
His office serves as a complaints repository and criminal justice center for securities fraud and crypto currency scams. The visit was part of a larger awareness campaign informing constituents on different types of fraud.
James Brown, Montana’s state auditor and commissioner of securities and insurance, visited Livingston and Big Timber this week and warned the public about scams involving cryptocurrency.
“We are seeing a huge uptick in fraud schemes involving digital currencies in 2025,” Brown told the Enterprise on Tuesday.
His office serves as a complaints repository and criminal justice center for securities fraud and crypto currency scams. The visit was part of a larger awareness campaign informing constituents on different types of fraud.
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are a type of digital currency in which a record of transactions is maintained and new units of currency are generated by the computational solution of mathematical problems, which operates independently of a central bank, unlike the U.S. dollar.
The Bitcoin currency network uses a form of encryption known as hash functions, for security and immutability. Bitcoin uses public key-based digital signatures to allow users to send it without needing to trust any central authority or intermediary.
The difference between a real ATM [and a Bitcoin ATM] is something comes out of real value,” said Brown. “With these crypto ATMs, we’re not really sure whether it’s legitimate or what the value is. The whole reason digital currency even started is because people wanted to engage in a form of commerce that was not transparent, beyond government regulation.”
While Bitcoin transactions are pseudonymous, meaning they are linked to a digital wallet address, as opposed to an official bank account connected to a verified identity, transactions are recorded, making them traceable. In theory, anyone can view the transaction history of a Bitcoin account, potentially linking it to an address and, with enough information, verify a scammer’s location and identity.
BEHIND THE DIGITAL WALL
It’s almost impossible to recover money stolen in a Bitcoin scam, according to Brown.
“We are able to trace where the money went, but from there it’s all over,” Brown said. “Most of these scam operations are overseas. Once you transfer the money into the scammers digital wallet, it’s gone. We can identify where it went, but we do not know who is ‘behind the wall,’ where they are located, if we have jurisdiction over them.”
INTERVENTION
Brown seeks more enforcement authority over Bitcoin ATMs.
“It’s going to take an act of legislature to give the Attorney General’s Office or our office some kind of authority to shut this down.” Brown said.
The Montana Legislature could provide his office with additional investigators with expertise to track down cryptocurrency fraudsters during the next legislative session in 2027, he said.
“We have investigators in the agency, but they are trained up in the more traditional forms of fraud, like insurance, traditional securities fraud,” he said. This is a whole new area we are encountering.”
Brown referenced recent conversations with the Petroleum Marketers Association, in which he encouraged proprietors not to allow the machines on the premises of their gas stations. He also had discussions with White House staffers in April.
“This is all very nascent,” he said. “I have watched how Bitcoin has been around since [2009], but this type of digital currency has just exploded within the past two-three years.”
Increased regulation could benefit legitimate companies who use, buy and sell cryptocurrency, according to Brown.
The State Auditor’s Office encourages those who believe they are victims of a cryptocurrency, insurance, any financial fraud or scam, to reach out to its Financial Abuse Specialist task force. The office encourages victims to report incidents within 48-72 hours. A restitution fund is available, authorized by Montana Legislature for compensating in-state fraud victims, with a maximum restitution of $50,000.
Click HERE to read the article in the Livingston Enterprise.
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