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TALLAHASSEE — With a law-enforcement officer citing examples of seniors getting scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars, a House panel Tuesday began moving forward with a proposal that would place regulations on “crypto ATMs.”

The issue stems from scams in which seniors are convinced to withdraw cash from banks or credit unions and put the cash into the ATMs, which are more technically called virtual currency kiosks. The cash then is converted to virtual currency and cannot be tracked.

“Once it’s converted into crypto, it’s gone,” said Rep Michael Owen, an Apollo Beach Republican sponsoring the proposal ( HB 505 ), which was approved unanimously by the House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee.

The vote came after Hillsborough County Sher

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