How Texas wants to use ATMs to stop human trafficking

Due to its largely untraceable nature, cash is king to many criminals, and human traffickers are no exception. In particular, many illicit massage parlors and cantinas often feature private "white-label" ATMs so customers can pull out cash for their "services."

There has been some pushback against this trend in Texas, however. If passed, House Bill 2629 would require private ATM owners to register their devices, which would give law enforcement more information on the human-tracking operation's financial records, said Carolina Roberts, a staff attorney at Children at Risk, a human-trafficking advocacy organization.

"We work with non-profits to do outreach at these parlors and cantinas and they consistently see ATMs inside," Roberts said during an interview with ATM Marketplace. "We know that ATMs are a very necessary part of the financial landscape and we support private usage. We just want to handle those bad actors."

The bill would require the name of the operator and the business to help identity who is specifically involved with the ATM — since many times the actual owner of the ATM may not be involved with the crime.

This law would not impact financial institutions' ATMs only privately owned ones. Other states have similar laws such as Maine and Minnesota.

"It would also allow law enforcement who it is that is profiting from these businesses," Roberts said.

In order to register the ATM, the operator would need to pay a fee that is capped at $200 per year. regardless of how many ATMs the operator owns.

The goal of this bill is not to punish ATM operators, since they provide a necessary service, especially in financially underserved communities, Roberts said. Rather, its goal is to "make the burden very low for operators but make it very easy for law enforcement."

Once law enforcement teams have access to the ATM, they may gain critical evidence through the business' financial records, which could help them to more easily prosecute the human trafficker.

Texas citizens may also get involved with this effort by calling their representatives to ask them to pass the bill and by looking for tell-tale signs while going to these establishments. Those signs include blacked-out windows, late operating hours, white-label ATMs without a sticker or if an employee is acting strange or frightened.