Crypto crooks are getting bolder — and now, they sound similar to your mother.
International crypto scams soared 456% between Might 2024 and April 2025 — turning into more and more reliant on AI-generated voices, deepfake movies and phony credentials to fleece unsuspecting victims, blockchain intelligence agency TRM Labs‘ Ari Redbord informed The Submit after testifying earlier than Congress final Tuesday.
“These scams are highly effective, as the technology feels incredibly real and familiar to the victim,” Redbord stated.
“We’ve seen cases where scammers use AI to replicate the voice of a loved one, tricking the victim into transferring money under the guise of an urgent request.”
And the risk is exploding — particularly in high-density cities like New York, Miami and Los Angeles, he added.
In June, New York officers froze $300,000 in stolen cryptocurrency and seized greater than 100 rip-off web sites linked to a Vietnam-based ring that focused Russian-speaking Brooklynites with faux Fb funding adverts.
Meta shut down over 700 Fb accounts tied to the rip-off.
Investigators say the group used deepfake BitLicense certificates and moved victims onto encrypted apps like Telegram earlier than draining their wallets.
Some New Yorkers misplaced a whole bunch of hundreds of {dollars} — and it’s not simply on a regular basis joes getting focused.
Even crypto insiders are falling for it. Florida-based crypto agency MoonPay noticed its CEO Ivan Soto-Wright and CFO Mouna Ammari Siala duped into wiring $250,000 in crypto to a scammer posing as Trump inauguration co-chair Steve Witkoff, based on a current Division of Justice grievance.
And that’s simply the tip of the iceberg.
Globally, fraudsters swiped greater than $10.7 billion in 2024 by means of crypto cons — together with romance scams, faux buying and selling platforms and “pig-butchering,” the place scammers construct faux relationships earlier than draining victims’ accounts, Redbord stated.
Within the US, Individuals filed practically 150,000 crypto-related fraud complaints in 2024, with losses topping $3.9 billion, based on the FBI. However the actual quantity is probably going a lot greater.
“Only around 15% of victims actually report these crimes,” Redbord stated, citing disgrace, concern and mistrust in legislation enforcement — significantly amongst older adults and immigrant communities.
Considered one of these scammers go-to instruments? Crypto ATMs — particularly these tucked inside New York delis and comfort shops.
Illicit use at these kiosks is greater than twice as excessive as within the broader crypto market, Redbord stated. Victims are sometimes directed to scan a QR code and deposit money, immediately changing it to crypto earlier than the funds disappear.
Because the scams rage on, Washington is beginning to carry order to the Wild West of crypto.
Home lawmakers wrapped up “Crypto Week” final Thursday by passing the first-ever complete cryptocurrency laws — a trio of payments targeted on regulating stablecoins, buying and selling platforms and digital asset infrastructure.
Even so, Redbord suggested, frequent sense is the very best protection.
“If something feels too good to be true — especially unsolicited investment advice — it almost always is,” he stated.
“Verify the platform. Confirm identities. And when in doubt, report it — whether to IC3, Chainabuse or your local authorities.”
