FBI Warns Against Unregistered Cryptocurrency Money Transmitters

The FBI has issued a warning to Americans about using unregistered cryptocurrency money transmitting services https://cryptonews.net/news/legal/28922962/. These services, often called crypto exchanges, allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrency.

The FBI is concerned about two main things:

• Unlicensed services: They warn against services that aren’t registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as Money Services Businesses (MSBs). This registration requires the service to follow anti-money laundering regulations.
• Services without Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols: KYC is the process of a business verifying the identity of its customers. The FBI advises against using services that don’t require KYC information.

The FBI is worried that people who use these unregistered or non-KYC services could:

• Lose access to their funds: If law enforcement takes action against an unlicensed service, users’ cryptocurrency could be frozen.
• Become involved in money laundering: If criminals use the service, users’ funds could be unknowingly mixed with illegal money.

The FBI recommends using a FinCEN tool to check if a cryptocurrency service is registered as an MSB https://www.fincen.gov/msb-state-selector.