Rhode Island Scam and Fraud Laws: Reporting, Suing, Crypto ATMs

Rhode Island's consumer protection law, the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, lets a person who bought or leased goods or services primarily for personal, family or household use, and lost money or property because of a deceptive practice, sue for their actual damages or $500, whichever is greater. The court may award three times actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees, but both are up to the judge. That right is tied to a purchase or lease, so a victim who simply sent money to an impostor may not fit it.

Rhode Island also has a crypto ATM refund rule for first-time users. Since June 23, 2025, a kiosk operator must refund the full amount of a new customer's transactions made in their first 30 days if the customer was tricked into them and tells both the operator and a government or law enforcement agency within the deadline. Complaints about scams go to the Rhode Island Attorney General, and suspected exploitation of anyone 60 or older goes to the Office of Healthy Aging.

Information last verified on October 2, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This guide covers Rhode Island state law: the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 6-13.1), Rhode Island complaint offices, protections for older adults, the state's crypto kiosk, telephone sales, gift card, notary and door-to-door sales laws, and the rules for suing in Rhode Island courts. Federal refund and reporting rights are summarized briefly and covered on our national guides. Out of scope: criminal defense, and the law of other states (if the scammer or business is elsewhere, that state's law may also matter).

First steps if you were scammed in Rhode Island

Contact the bank, card issuer, payment app, wire company or crypto exchange that moved your money right away. That company is usually the only one that can stop or reverse a payment, and your federal rights depend on how you paid. Our guide on how to get money back after a scam walks through each payment method, and the Zelle and payment app guide covers app transfers.

Then report it. Most scams go to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov (in Spanish at reportefraude.ftc.gov) and online crime to the FBI's IC3; our where to report a scam guide lists every federal channel. The Rhode Island offices below are in addition to those, not instead of them.

Where to report a scam in Rhode Island

The Attorney General's consumer protection unit says it helps "consumers resolve complaints against businesses, whether it's a refund for a cancelled trip or services paid for but never delivered." Its complaint form adds a limit worth knowing: "State law does not authorize the Attorney General to give individual citizens legal advice or opinions on statutory interpretation, or to act as their private attorney." The mailing address is 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903.

If your bank is a national bank or federal credit union rather than a Rhode Island-chartered one, the Division of Banking points you to the federal regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at (855) 411-2372, the OCC at (800) 613-6743, the FDIC at (877) 275-3342, the Federal Reserve at (888) 851-1920 and the NCUA at (800) 755-1030.

Rhode Island's consumer protection law: can you sue?

Sometimes. Rhode Island's Deceptive Trade Practices Act declares unlawful "unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce" (section 6-13.1-2), and section 6-13.1-5.2 gives a private right to sue. Who can bring that suit is defined narrowly:

"Any person who purchases or leases goods or services primarily for personal, family, or household purposes and thereby suffers any ascertainable loss of money or property, real or personal, as a result of the use or employment by another person of a method, act, or practice declared unlawful by § 6-13.1-2, may bring an action ... to recover actual damages or five hundred dollars ($500), whichever is greater."

Three conditions sit in that sentence. You must have bought or leased goods or services, mainly for personal, family or household use (not for a business). You must have an ascertainable loss of money or property. And the loss must result from a practice the act makes unlawful. That fits a deceptive seller, contractor or service company well.

It fits a scam less clearly when nothing was bought. A victim who wired money to a fake government agent or sent funds to a romance scammer did not, on the face of the text, purchase or lease goods or services. We have not reviewed a Rhode Island court decision on how far the act reaches in that situation; a Rhode Island lawyer can tell you whether your facts fit.

The act's list of prohibited practices (section 6-13.1-1) includes "causing likelihood of confusion or of misunderstanding as to affiliation, connection, or association with, or certification by, another," claiming "a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection that he or she does not have," and any act or practice "that is unfair or deceptive to the consumer." Courts reading the act give "great weight" to how the Federal Trade Commission and the federal courts interpret the FTC Act (section 6-13.1-3).

What you can recover

A person who wins recovers actual damages or $500, whichever is greater. Beyond that, the statute leaves the extras to the judge:

• Treble damages: "The court may award damages equal to three (3) times the amount of actual damages." The word is "may," and the text does not tie it to a finding that the deception was knowing or willful.
• Attorney's fees: "the court may award, in addition to the relief provided in this section, reasonable attorney's fees and costs" (section 6-13.1-5.2(d)). Fees are discretionary, not guaranteed.
• Other relief: the court may order injunctive or other equitable relief.

The act also allows a class action when the same practice injured many people similarly situated (section 6-13.1-5.2(b)). Section 6-13.1-5.2 does not require you to send the business a demand letter before suing. Once you file, the court clerk mails a copy of the complaint to the Attorney General.

Regulated businesses

Section 6-13.1-4(a) says the act does not apply to "actions or transactions permitted under laws administered by the department of business regulation or other regulatory body or officer acting under statutory authority of this state or the United States." A bank, insurer or other regulated company may raise that exemption. How courts apply it in a private suit is something we have not reviewed, so ask a Rhode Island lawyer before relying on the act against a regulated business.

The deadline

The sections of chapter 6-13.1 we reviewed do not set their own filing deadline. Rhode Island's general rule for civil cases is that, "Except as otherwise specially provided," an action must be "commenced within ten (10) years next after the cause of action shall accrue" (section 9-1-13(a)). We have not confirmed which deadline Rhode Island courts apply to Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims, so do not plan around ten years; act promptly.

If the person you would sue hid the claim from you, section 9-1-20 helps: when someone "fraudulently, by actual misrepresentation, conceal[s]" the existence of a cause of action, it is treated as accruing when the victim "shall first discover its existence."

The honest limit

A lawsuit needs a defendant you can identify, serve and collect from. That often works against a Rhode Island business, contractor or seller with a real address. It usually does not work against an anonymous scammer behind a spoofed number, a fake profile or an overseas account, and a judgment does not help if nobody can be found to pay it.

Protections for older adults in Rhode Island

Tougher criminal penalties when the victim is 65 or older. Rhode Island treats obtaining money "by any false pretense or pretenses ... with intent to cheat or defraud," including by falsely claiming to be someone's agent, as larceny (section 11-41-4). When the victim is 65 or older, section 11-41-5(b) raises the sentence for anyone convicted, with no requirement that the offender was a caregiver or relative:

• More than $500 taken: imprisonment for not less than 2 years and not more than 15 years, or a fine of not more than $5,000, or both.
• $500 or less: imprisonment for not less than 1 year and not more than 5 years, or a fine of not more than $3,000, or both.

These are criminal penalties imposed by a court in a prosecution. They are not money the victim receives.

The elder exploitation crime is narrower. Section 11-68-2 makes it a crime to knowingly, "by deception or intimidation," obtain or use an elder person's funds or property, but only for someone who stands "in a position of trust and confidence" with the person (relatives, fiduciaries, caregivers and others entrusted with their money), someone who has "a business relationship" with them (an oral or written contract or agreement for goods or services), or someone who knows or should know the older person lacks the capacity to consent. An elder person here means someone 60 or older. A stranger with none of those relationships who talks a capable older person into sending money falls outside section 11-68-2, though the larceny law above can still apply. Penalties under section 11-68-3 depend on the amount, reaching up to 30 years in prison, a $15,000 fine, or both for $100,000 or more.

Everyone must report. Section 42-66-8(a) says any person "who has reasonable cause to believe that any person sixty (60) years of age or older has been abused, neglected, or exploited, or is self-neglecting, shall make an immediate report" to the Office of Healthy Aging. Failing to report can bring a fine of not more than $1,000, and the law does not require the older victim to report. Use the Office of Healthy Aging's web intake or call the intake line at 401-462-0555.

Banks must report, and can hold transactions. Under Rhode Island's Elder Adult Financial Exploitation Prevention Act, a bank or credit union employee who has reasonable cause to suspect financial exploitation of a customer 60 or older must notify the institution, which must assess it and report to the Office of Healthy Aging by the earlier of the second business day after finishing its assessment or the seventh business day after the employee's notice (section 19-34-2). Exploitation in that act includes using an older adult's resources through "deception, false representation or false pretenses" by any individual, not only a caregiver.

Once it has reported, section 19-34-4 says the institution:

"(1) May place a temporary hold on any transaction that: (i) Involves an account of the elder adult; and (ii) The regulated institution has reasonable cause to believe that financial exploitation of an elder adult has occurred, is occurring, has been attempted, or will be attempted. (2) Shall place a hold on any transaction involving the account of the elder adult if the hold is requested by the elder abuse unit of the office of attorney general or a law enforcement agency."

The hold expires on the 15th business day after the institution submits its report. It can be extended for up to 30 more business days if a state or federal agency or law enforcement agency investigating the case asks, and the institution can also ask a court to extend it. Outside a request from the Attorney General's elder abuse unit or the police, a hold is the bank's choice, so if you are worried about a parent's account, tell the bank directly that you suspect a scam.

Brokerage accounts. Under the Senior Savings Protection Act, a broker-dealer (through its qualified individuals) that reasonably believes a requested disbursement would result in financial exploitation of a qualified adult (someone 60 or older, or an impaired adult 18 to 59) may refuse it. The refusal ends when that belief is resolved or 10 business days after the initial refusal, whichever is sooner, unless a court extends it (section 7-11.2-4).

For fraud against anyone 60 or older, the federal DOJ National Elder Fraud Hotline (833-372-8311) can also help you report; see where to report a scam.

Rhode Island scam laws on the books

Crypto ATMs (virtual currency kiosks)

Rhode Island regulated crypto kiosks in 2025 (Public Laws 2025, chapters 113 and 114), effective June 23, 2025, in chapter 19-14.3 of the General Laws. The only 2026 amendment we found (Public Laws 2026, chapter 352) changed one word in section 19-14.3-3.10 and did not change these rules. Under the law:

• Licensing: a kiosk operator must be licensed in Rhode Island as a money transmitter, and each kiosk must be registered with and approved by the Department of Business Regulation before it is activated (section 19-14.3-3.9).
• Daily limits: an operator may not accept more than $2,000 a day in cash or the equivalent from a new customer, or more than $5,000 a day from an existing customer, "without regard to the number of virtual currency kiosks utilized" (section 19-14.3-3.12).
• Who is a new customer: someone who has never transacted with that operator before. They stay a new customer for 30 days after their first transaction, then become an existing customer (section 19-14.3-1.1).
• Fraud controls: operators must use blockchain analytics software, keep a written anti-fraud policy and employ a full-time compliance officer (section 19-14.3-3.11), and must offer live customer service Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM Eastern, with a toll-free number on the kiosk (section 19-14.3-3.13).
• Warning and receipt: the kiosk must display a warning about impostor scams, and since November 1, 2025, the receipt must include the operator's contact information and phone number and a statement of its refund policy (section 19-14.3-3.10).

The refund rule is the part a victim needs. Section 19-14.3-3.11(3) says:

"Upon request of the customer, a virtual currency kiosk operator shall issue a refund to a new customer for the full amount of all transactions made within the thirty-day (30) new customer time period ... In order to receive a refund under this subsection, a new customer shall have been fraudulently induced to engage in the virtual currency transaction(s) and shall contact the virtual currency kiosk operator and a government or law enforcement agency to inform them of the fraudulent nature of the transaction(s) within ninety (90) days of the last transaction to occur during the thirty-day (30) new customer time period."

So if you were a first-time customer of that operator, contact both the operator (its number should be on the kiosk and your receipt) and the police or a government agency such as the Attorney General, within 90 days of your last transaction in your first 30 days. If you were already an existing customer, section 19-14.3-3.11(4) gives you back only "the full amount of all transaction fees," not the money you sent, under the same conditions and within 90 days of each transaction.

The warning the kiosk must display says losses due to fraud "ARE NOT RECOVERABLE." Do not read that as the last word: the refund section above still applies to transactions it covers. Complaints about a kiosk operator, as a licensed money transmitter, go to the Division of Banking (see the table above).

Telephone sales

Rhode Island's Telephone Sales Solicitation Act covers telephone sellers who use certain pitches, including promising a prize or gift if you buy or pay something, and representing that "the seller is a person other than the person he or she is" (section 5-61-2(9)). Banks and other supervised financial institutions, and businesses exempt under section 6-13.1-4, are excluded. Section 5-61-5.1(a) gives a purchaser a lawsuit:

"Any purchaser may have a right of action against a telephonic seller who is in material violation of this chapter. The purchaser may recover triple the amount actually paid to the telephonic seller. In addition to any judgment awarded to the purchaser, the court may allow reasonable attorney's fees to be taxed as cost."

Willful violations, or using "any device, scheme, or artifice to deceive," are also crimes punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 per unlawful transaction, up to a year in prison, or both (section 5-61-5); that fine goes to the state. Covered sellers may make unsolicited sales calls only Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., excluding holidays (sections 5-61-2(2) and 5-61-3.6), and must keep a do-not-call list that complies with federal rules (section 5-61-3.5). The same section separately bars businesses from sending text message advertisements to Rhode Island cell phones, with exceptions such as a business with an existing relationship that offers an opt-out. For how phone and text scams work, see our phishing, smishing and vishing guide.

Gift card scam warnings

Since June 20, 2023, a store may not sell a gift card in Rhode Island unless it displays a conspicuous notice, in a form set by the Department of Business Regulation, that "cautions the purchaser about prepaid card scams" and tells them what to do if they suspect they are a victim (section 6-59-2). The penalty is a civil penalty of up to $250 (section 6-59-3). The law requires the warning; it does not create a refund right. If a scammer told you to buy gift cards, see our gift card scams guide.

Notarios and immigration help

A Rhode Island notary commission does not authorize anyone to act as an immigration consultant or expert on immigration matters, to represent a person in an immigration proceeding, or to take payment for those activities. A notary who is not a Rhode Island-licensed attorney "may not use the term 'notario' or 'notario publico'" (section 42-30.1-18). If someone offered immigration help as a notario, see our guide to notario fraud.

Door-to-door sales

For a sale of $25 or more of consumer goods or services made at your home (including when you invited the seller), you can cancel "not later than midnight three (3) days following the buyer's signing the agreement, excluding Sunday and any holiday on which regular mail deliveries are not made," by registered or certified mail (sections 6-28-2 and 6-28-3). Some sales are excluded, such as a genuine emergency you initiated and waived in your own handwriting, mail or phone-only sales, insurance and real property. A violation is a misdemeanor (section 6-28-8).

Suing a scammer or a business in Rhode Island

Small claims. Rhode Island's small claims procedure, in district court, covers contract claims "for money only not in excess of five thousand dollars ($5,000) exclusive of interest and costs," and claims for damages "resulting from a retail sale of tangible personal property to a member of the general public or from services rendered to a member of the general public" up to the same amount (section 10-16-1). That fits a dispute with a seller, contractor or service business. A pure fraud claim against someone who sold you nothing may not fit those categories, so ask the district court clerk or a lawyer before filing.

A 2026 law (Public Laws 2026, chapter 323) changes the small claims entry fee from $55 plus a separate technology surcharge to $75 including that surcharge, and raises the limit on a defendant's compulsory counterclaim from $2,500 to $5,000. It takes effect on January 1, 2027.

Deadlines. Rhode Island's general civil deadline is ten years from when the cause of action accrues, except where a statute provides otherwise (section 9-1-13(a)), and fraudulent concealment delays accrual until discovery (section 9-1-20). We have not confirmed whether a separate rule applies to fraud claims, so ask a Rhode Island lawyer how the deadlines apply to your dates. Our Rhode Island statute of limitations guide covers other civil deadlines.

Who you can actually reach. Lawsuits work against people and businesses with a name, an address and assets. A scammer who hid behind a fake identity, a spoofed caller ID or an overseas account is usually not reachable through a Rhode Island court. In those cases the payment company, a fast report to law enforcement (which is also a condition of the crypto kiosk refund), and protecting your identity are where your effort pays off. Our guide on when a lawyer helps after a scam explains when legal help is worth it.

Related guides

• Scams and fraud: your rights and where to start
• How to get money back after a scam
• Where to report a scam
• Crypto and investment scams
• Elder fraud
• Government impersonation scams
• Rhode Island identity theft laws
• Rhode Island debt collection laws
• Rhode Island statute of limitations

Last updated: October 2, 2026.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, contact your payment company, the Rhode Island office named above, or a lawyer licensed in Rhode Island.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sue a scammer in Rhode Island?

Possibly, if you can identify and serve them and you fit the Deceptive Trade Practices Act: someone who purchased or leased goods or services primarily for personal, family or household use and suffered an ascertainable loss (R.I. Gen. Laws section 6-13.1-5.2). A victim who bought nothing may not fit, and an anonymous or overseas scammer is usually not reachable through a Rhode Island court.

How much can I recover under the Rhode Island Deceptive Trade Practices Act?

Actual damages or $500, whichever is greater. The court may also award three times actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees and costs, but both are at its discretion (section 6-13.1-5.2).

Do I need to send a demand letter before suing under the Rhode Island act?

Section 6-13.1-5.2 does not require one. When the case is filed, the court clerk mails a copy of the complaint to the Attorney General.

How do I report a scam to the Rhode Island Attorney General?

Use the online consumer complaint form at riag.ri.gov or call 401-274-4400 (prompt 1). The office refers complaints that belong to another agency and cannot give legal advice or act as your private attorney.

Can I get my money back from a Rhode Island crypto ATM?

If you were a new customer of that operator, section 19-14.3-3.11 requires a full refund of transactions made in your first 30 days if you were fraudulently induced and contacted the operator and a government or law enforcement agency within 90 days of your last transaction in that period. Existing customers get back only the transaction fees.

What are the crypto ATM limits in Rhode Island?

$2,000 a day for a new customer and $5,000 a day for an existing customer, across all of the operator's kiosks (section 19-14.3-3.12), in force since June 23, 2025.

Who do I call if an elderly person in Rhode Island is being scammed?

Report it to Adult Protective Services at the Office of Healthy Aging, 401-462-0555 or its web intake. Rhode Island law requires anyone with reasonable cause to believe a person 60 or older is being exploited to report it (section 42-66-8).

Can a Rhode Island bank freeze a transaction if it suspects elder fraud?

Yes. After reporting suspected exploitation of a customer 60 or older, a bank may hold a related transaction, and must if the Attorney General's elder abuse unit or the police ask (section 19-34-4). The hold ends on the 15th business day after the report unless extended up to 30 more business days.

What is the small claims limit in Rhode Island?

$5,000, exclusive of interest and costs, for contract claims and claims from a retail sale or services (section 10-16-1). A fraud claim against someone who sold you nothing may not fit those categories.