Missouri is putting its money where the scammers are.
The state’s top prosecutor, Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, just asked for nearly $901,782 in next year’s budget to beef up the fight against cryptocurrency scams. Think of it as a cash injection to catch the bad actors before they drain wallets.
The plan? Five new attorneys, four investigators, and two support staff. All focused on sniffing out fraud and stopping crypto con artists in their tracks.
“Cryptocurrency scams are becoming more common and often target elderly victims and consumers,” the budget request notes. “There is significant need to devote additional resources to investigators and attorneys to uncover, investigate, and move quickly to protect Missouri consumers.”
This comes just as Governor Mike Kehoe gears up to unveil his budget to lawmakers on January 13, with warnings that revenue and spending growth may be tight after years of big surpluses.
Crypto scams aren’t abstract, they’re hitting home
It’s not just theory. Local law enforcement is sounding the alarm. In November, Kirkwood Police warned about scammers using calls, texts, and pop-ups pretending to be government, banks, or utilities. The scam? Scare people into sending cash through Bitcoin ATMs.
One resident reportedly lost $26,000 in a complex crypto scam. Meanwhile, Clay County says 150+ residents lost $3 million to Bitcoin ATM scams over the past two years.
The playbook is familiar: victims get calls from “sheriffs” or “court officials” claiming they missed court. Panic sets in, money gets sent via Bitcoin, and it’s gone. Scammers even provide QR codes linked directly to their wallets, making it nearly impossible to recover the cash.
The FBI says Americans lost $5.6 billion in crypto scams in 2024, a 45% jump since 2022. Michael Nordwall, assistant director of the FBI’s criminal investigative division, puts it bluntly:
“The decentralized nature of cryptocurrency, the speed of irreversible transactions, and the ability to transfer value around the world make cryptocurrency an attractive vehicle for criminals, while creating challenges to recover stolen funds.”
More tech, more teeth
Hanaway’s request highlights that the expanded Consumer Protection division would work with the Missouri State Highway Patrol to track suspicious activity and spot trends. The office would also invest in advanced tech to accelerate fraud detection and prevention.
In short: Missouri wants to be faster, smarter, and more tech-savvy than the scammers. And with crypto showing up everywhere, from ATMs to pop-ups on your phone, the state is betting that nearly $1 million is worth keeping people’s money out of the wrong hands.
