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Vladimir Gorbunov, founder of Choise.ai, expressed concerns over bans on cryptocurrency kiosks, suggesting that such measures misdiagnose the issue of fraud. He proposed that education, visible warnings, and real-time support are more effective solutions than restricting the kiosks. His statement was made on HackerNoon.
"The narrative has turned the kiosks into the villains," said Gorbunov. "but often you see fraud because of a chain of trust violations well before the kiosk itself. If we ban crypto ATMs because scammers used phones to trick people into using them, why not ban phones? The problem is, and always has been, sophisticated scammers exploiting human vulnerability and a massive gap in public understanding."
According to Athena Bitcoin, scam warnings are displayed on every kiosk they operate. The company also maintains a public fraud-education portal and runs a formal complaint process to capture customer reports for investigation and follow-up. Athena Bitcoin emphasizes that their staff never solicit Bitcoin payments and advises customers to contact authorities if pressured to pay fines, taxes, or utility bills in cryptocurrency. These initiatives aim to provide first-time users and those who prefer cash with clearer guidance at the point of transaction and a documented path for redress when scams are suspected.
