AI-fueled crypto scams are booming, up 456%

[Maslate]

I just want to post this since it’s very timely, especially now that the market is bullish. We all know that whenever the market goes up, scammers take advantage of the hype to trap more victims.

I came across this article, and honestly, it’s pretty alarming. As investors or even just regular people involved in crypto, we shouldn’t let ourselves be left behind when it comes to new technology online. We need to stay updated because the same tech that makes things easier for us can also be used by scammers to steal from people.

So yeah, here’s the article…

https://nypost.com/2025/07/26/tech/ai-fueled-crypto-scams-surging-in-nyc-and-beyond-expert-warns/

Crypto crooks are getting bolder — and now, they sound just like your mom.

Global crypto scams soared 456% between May 2024 and April 2025 — becoming increasingly reliant on AI-generated voices, deepfake videos and phony credentials to fleece unsuspecting victims, blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs‘ Ari Redbord told The Post after testifying before Congress last Tuesday.

“These scams are highly effective, as the technology feels incredibly real and familiar to the victim,” Redbord said.

It says in the article how scammers operate, and one of the most common tricks they’re using now is deepfake videos. If we’re not aware of this, it’s easy to fall for their traps because these videos look real.

But here’s what I don’t get, crypto is already more regulated than before, yet scams are still on the rise. Is it because scammers are just getting more creative, or are the regulations not enough to protect people? That’s the question in my mind right now.

[highalch]

Crypto scams can be indentified with 99.9% success rate with 1 question only: Is it bitcoin or something else?

[lovesmayfamilis]

Scammers nowadays don't need to be very smart to create something that can deceive those who are ready to believe everyone and everything. Given the right setup for creating a fake project, AI serves them in any direction. All that is needed is the right scenario. Some people are very happy with this technology, but others, use a seemingly valuable product to deceive others. What can be done to avoid falling into the scammers? You need to keep up with the times. Stop being naive, do not believe in anything, question everything, and once you learn to be a skeptic, you will have a sense of where you are being deceived and where, sometimes, the truth is being told.

[goldkingcoiner]

I am surprised there are so few AI tools that help you identify these scams. I definitely thought there would be more push-back with the anti-scam crowd. Or maybe it is still too early or the AI scams are simply too uneffective?

Most scammers are hoping for someone to make a mistake, which they would normally never do unless they were in a altered state or their cat simply walks over the keyboard. And of course, the elderly and demented are the main focus group.

[jogoo]

"There is a sucker born every minute". So scammers will always thrive and they’re always honing their tricks with the latest tech. Yes, awareness is key to not being a sucker.

[Z-tight]

But here’s what I don’t get, crypto is already more regulated than before, yet scams are still on the rise. Is it because scammers are just getting more creative, or are the regulations not enough to protect people? That’s the question in my mind right now.

People have to protect themselves and not rely on anything else to do that for them. Yeah crypto regulation is on the rise, crypto services have to implement kyc and aml processes, etc, but scammers who know what they are doing know how to circumvent all of these. I mean, centralized exchanges are regulated, but they get hacked left, right and center, don't they?

If you are holding BTC, be your own bank, store your funds in your self custodial wallet and implement all security measures; and there is a high chance you would never fall victim to hacks.

[Davidvictorson]

But here’s what I don’t get, crypto is already more regulated than before, yet scams are still on the rise. Is it because scammers are just getting more creative, or are the regulations not enough to protect people? That’s the question in my mind right now.

Yes, scammers are getting more creative. In fact they are even always like a step ahead of every regulation. I just commented on one of the posts on a malware on Microsoft SharePoint, scammers. That is an example of it. Scammers are now target the individuals directly and moving them to platforms that are not regulated. For example, that is what they do when they send a PM to someone on telegram. As soon as the person responds, they try to take the conversation off that platform to another strange platforms. Even in online casinos, the cases of scams involves casinos that almost no one have heard about and they are not regulated. And that regulations are increasing doesn't mean that people are paying attention to their security online. They are not.

[sokani]

But here’s what I don’t get, crypto is already more regulated than before, yet scams are still on the rise. Is it because scammers are just getting more creative, or are the regulations not enough to protect people? That’s the question in my mind right now.

Regulations cannot protect you when you receive a spoof message from a scammer pretending to be a staff from Coinbase or a phishing link from a compromised Ledger wallet account. It's the knowledge that you've acquired that would tell you it's a fake and not to act irrationally. Hence, as a crypto investor, it is very important to be reading and stay well informed of some of the tricks or schemes used by scammers to steal from their victims so that you'll be able to avoid them.

[cryptotact11]

But here’s what I don’t get, crypto is already more regulated than before, yet scams are still on the rise. Is it because scammers are just getting more creative, or are the regulations not enough to protect people? That’s the question in my mind right now.

Regulations cannot protect you when you receive a spoof message from a scammer pretending to be a staff from Coinbase or a phishing link from a compromised Ledger wallet account. It's the knowledge that you've acquired that would tell you it's a fake and not to act irrationally. Hence, as a crypto investor, it is very important to be reading and stay well informed of some of the tricks or schemes used by scammers to steal from their victims so that you'll be able to avoid them.

Regulations can't protect your from scams when people in the 3rd world have organized scam centers and the governments don't do anything about it. The only person who can protect you from a scam is yourself. If you are smart and have knowledge, no scammer in the world will be able to trick you. Neither with or without AI, it does not matter.

Yes, scammers are getting more creative. In fact they are even always like a step ahead of every regulation. I just commented on one of the posts on a malware on Microsoft SharePoint, scammers. That is an example of it. Scammers are now target the individuals directly and moving them to platforms that are not regulated. For example, that is what they do when they send a PM to someone on telegram. As soon as the person responds, they try to take the conversation off that platform to another strange platforms. Even in online casinos, the cases of scams involves casinos that almost no one have heard about and they are not regulated. And that regulations are increasing doesn't mean that people are paying attention to their security online. They are not.

This is not about regulation at all. The person who accepts to talk on another platform is the one at fault. Actually even responding to PMs from strangers is stupid on its own. In the end it is all the fault of the person.

[coupable]

But here’s what I don’t get, crypto is already more regulated than before, yet scams are still on the rise. Is it because scammers are just getting more creative, or are the regulations not enough to protect people? That’s the question in my mind right now.

Despite the regulations are the right step to the right direction, but it still need continuous developement and global cooperation to protect both investors and regular users; With the emergence of the AI, which is a great tool for everybody, scammers become more creative to expoilt loopholes in new laws and systems, in addition to target newbies with professional techniques. Another reason is that some new systems aren't enough or are not well applied so that scammers can easy open the door and come in.

[Nwada001]

Scammers nowadays don't need to be very smart to create something that can deceive those who are ready to believe everyone and everything. Given the right setup for creating a fake project, AI serves them in any direction. All that is needed is the right scenario. Some people are very happy with this technology, but others, use a seemingly valuable product to deceive others. What can be done to avoid falling into the scammers? You need to keep up with the times. Stop being naive, do not believe in anything, question everything, and once you learn to be a skeptic, you will have a sense of where you are being deceived and where, sometimes, the truth is being told.

The thing here is the more technology advances for the betterment of human life, the more those whose work is to use technological advancement to their own advantage are scheming how they can exploit that development to scam innocent victims, and this is not just in AI, but in every aspect of life there are those who are busy building and another set who are busy planning on how to take advantage of it. The best way is just to question everything and never trust whoever we meet online, just like you have noted. Unless I know someone in person, it's hard to convince me to trust you no matter what you offer.

[stadus]

Lack of knowledge about the technology being used for scams is really dangerous. that’s why if we’re investing, we should also keep educating ourselves about new tech developments online. A lot of these tools, like AI, are meant to make life easier, but scammers are quick to find ways to use them for fraud.

And honestly, it’s not surprising that scams still happen even with regulations in place. The main goal of government regulations isn’t really to fully stop scams, it’s more about making sure they can collect taxes and go after activities that are clearly illegal. Preventing scams entirely isn’t something they’ve been very effective at doing.

just look how big the numbers are already in the 1st quarter of 2025

AI Deepfake Scams Surge: Over $200 Million Lost in Just Three Months

$200M lost in three months…and that number could grow
A report by Resemble AI, titled “Q1 2025 Deepfake Incident Report,” paints a worrying picture of how deepfake crimes are evolving. Analyzing 163 documented incidents between January and April 2025, researchers found that scammers are not only chasing big money, they’re now also going after personal reputations and mental well-being.

The financial toll is high. “Documented financial losses from deepfake-enabled fraud exceed $200 million in Q1 2025 alone,” the report noted. And those numbers could grow.

[sheenshane]

But here’s what I don’t get, crypto is already more regulated than before, yet scams are still on the rise. Is it because scammers are just getting more creative, or are the regulations not enough to protect people? That’s the question in my mind right now.

But that's a wrong perception.
Crypto itself was not directly regulated, only the exchanges had regulations applied or third-party companies that use crypto, not crypto itself.
Scams still exist as long as there are newcomers who always fall into their traps, and AI now provides advanced tools to deceive people into believing fake things look real.  No one can protect you except yourself once you are knowledgeable enough to do so.

Regulations have nothing to do with scams.
There are many ways scammers convince new crypto investors, and I think AI could now be their new tool.

[kotajikikox]

Crypto scams can be indentified with 99.9% success rate with 1 question only: Is it bitcoin or something else?

Bitcoin’s name can also be used to scam people.

Though of course if you were smart, you’d buy bitcoin in respected platforms or p2p but some people might offer you bitcoin if you just click on a link. Maybe someone will say “hey, I have free bitcoin. Just transfer a dollar to this account and you will get 5 bitcoins.” You might think it’s too good to be true but some people are simply too foolish and ignorant.

[Sanitough]

Regulations have nothing to do with scams.
There are many ways scammers convince new crypto investors, and I think AI could now be their new tool.

Not a complete solution, but yeah, it can help reduce scams.

Take KYC for example – if every exchange and platform strictly required it, scammers would have a harder time pushing their scam coins. And, there have been cases where smart contract or blockchain audits exposed scammers and traced where the money went. There are even companies dedicated to tracking these movements. So, with proper regulation, even a small piece of info can already give investigators a good lead to catch these scammers.

[bhadz]

Deepfake is dangerous and it's happening in our country where even Manny Pacquiao and other known business moguls were used to advertise such financial scams. This is the reason why we need to be vigilant. I'm afraid that there will be a lot of victims that are gullible to these fake videos and will trust them because their reasoning is going to be this, "it's because he says so, the popular guy". Even celebrities, they have no escape on these because people are fanatics and they'll put their trust to these names and whichever they advertise even their faces and voices were used, they'll believe on them. If someone sees a video on any platform, just report them so it will be removed.

[Marvell1]

But here’s what I don’t get, crypto is already more regulated than before, yet scams are still on the rise. Is it because scammers are just getting more creative, or are the regulations not enough to protect people? That’s the question in my mind right now.

Scams have been around for thousands of years and it is human behavior. Cryptocurrency scams are just like any other form of scam in life or any field, even if they are heavily regulated or monitored by the government. Cryptocurrency scams will never go away completely and it will depend on human greed. If we cannot control greed and get rich quick, scams will never disappear and will even increase faster.

Scamming is human behavior, so as long as we are greedy, those traps will always be lurking just waiting for us to fall into them. So don't wonder, don't blame the government, cryptocurrency, when the main cause is our greed.

[stadus]

Deepfake is dangerous and it's happening in our country where even Manny Pacquiao and other known business moguls were used to advertise such financial scams. This is the reason why we need to be vigilant. I'm afraid that there will be a lot of victims that are gullible to these fake videos and will trust them because their reasoning is going to be this, "it's because he says so, the popular guy". Even celebrities, they have no escape on these because people are fanatics and they'll put their trust to these names and whichever they advertise even their faces and voices were used, they'll believe on them. If someone sees a video on any platform, just report them so it will be removed.

Now that we know deepfakes exist, we should be extra careful about believing everything we see right away. If something looks too good to be true, chances are it might be fake just like how we should think twice before investing in something that promises unrealistically high returns.

I couldn’t find exact data on the total victims of deepfake scams in the Philippines, but the SEC has already issued warnings about them. Scammers have even been using famous personalities to make their schemes look legit.

https://regtechtimes.com/deepfake-investment-scams-are-spreading-sec-issue/

ICTSI urges public caution over deepfake scam involving Razon[/url]]
MANILA, Philippines – Razon-led International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) has warned the public about online scams using manipulated videos and audio recordings to impersonate Chair Enrique K. Razon Jr. and other senior executives.

The fraudulent materials, which have appeared on social media, falsely portray Razon as promoting investment opportunities in a bid to trick people into shelling out money.

[adaseb]

The deepfake videos are pretty concerning. And if you think about it, it poses are huge problem.

Imagine if your friend member contacted you and said to send him Bitcoin to a specific address, that they will pay you back in a few days. You see their face, hear their voice and unless you then and there call them directly on the phone, you wont know its a scam. You will send the money to the fake AI deepfake and it will be gone.

I can see how people fall for this. Look at all the deepfake videos of celebrities, its hard to tell they are fake. This is a huge issue and since AI is this advanced there isnt much that can be done to stop it.

[davis196]

AI scams are booming in general. It's not just the crypto scams. AI is a powerful tool and it was pretty much expected that the scammers around the world would utilize this tool for their scam methods. A scam is a scam, it doesn't matter if the victims pays with cryptocurrency or fiat money. Talking about crypto scams puts a negative image over the crypto world. As if the crypto world is some kind of "wild west", where everyone is scamming everyone, which is definitely not the case. I'm sure that the law enforcement would find a way to use AI to help catch as many scammers as possible.