Crypto scams and security: how to spot, avoid and respond to fraud

Crypto scams cost Americans billions of dollars a year, but most follow a handful of predictable patterns. This guide shows you the current numbers, the red flags that appear in almost every scheme, where scammers find people, and exactly what to do if you think you have been targeted.

The scam landscape as of October 2026

The newest full-year figures cover 2025, and every major source points the same way: reported losses are still rising, and cryptocurrency remains a favorite payment rail for criminals because transfers are fast, global and hard to reverse.

• FBI IC3: The 2025 IC3 Annual Report, released in April 2026, logged 1,008,597 complaints and nearly $21 billion in reported losses. Complaints involving cryptocurrency, 181,565 of them, accounted for more than $11 billion, the most of any category the FBI tracks.
• Investment fraud leads: Investment fraud with a crypto connection alone produced about $7.3 billion in reported 2025 losses across 61,559 complaints.
• Older adults hit hardest: Americans over 60 reported roughly $7.7 billion in losses across all fraud types, up 37% from 2024, according to the FBI's announcement.
• AI is now its own category: For the first time, the IC3 report tracked complaints tied to artificial intelligence, which accounted for 22,364 complaints and nearly $893 million in losses, including voice clones and deepfake videos.
• FTC Consumer Sentinel: The FTC reported 3 million fraud reports and $15.9 billion in losses for 2025. Bank payments were the costliest payment method, followed by cryptocurrency.
• Chainalysis: The 2026 Crypto Crime Report found that crypto scams received at least $14 billion on-chain in 2025 and projected the final figure could exceed $17 billion. Impersonation scams grew roughly 1,400% year over year, and the average scam payment rose from $782 to $2,764.

There is also good news. The FBI's Operation Level Up had notified 8,103 people caught in crypto investment fraud as of December 2025, and 77% of them did not yet know they were being scammed. Learning the warning signs really does stop losses.

Why scammers like crypto

Crypto itself is not a scam, and millions of people use it legitimately. But a few of its features make it attractive to criminals, and understanding them explains why the never-do rules below are so strict.

• Transfers are final. The FTC points out that crypto payments typically cannot be reversed and do not carry the dispute rights that credit and debit cards have. Once you send, you usually only get money back if the recipient chooses to return it.
• Money moves across borders in minutes. Many large scam operations run from overseas compounds, and a transfer can leave the US before anyone notices.
• Self-custody puts you in charge. That is a real benefit, but it also means there is no bank fraud team watching your wallet or blocking a suspicious transfer.
• Newcomers are still learning. Unfamiliar terms like seed phrase, gas and token approval give scammers room to invent official-sounding “procedures.”

The upside is that blockchains are public. Investigators can trace funds across addresses, and law enforcement has seized large sums from scam networks; Chainalysis highlighted a record $15 billion seizure linked to the Prince Group in 2025. Tracing works best when victims report early and include transaction details.

AI, deepfakes and cloned voices

Generative AI has made scams more convincing. Chainalysis estimated that AI-enabled scam operations were about 4.5 times more profitable than traditional ones in 2025, and the FBI now tracks AI-related complaints separately.

Common uses include fake video of public figures promoting giveaways or trading bots, cloned voices of relatives asking for urgent help, AI-written messages without the spelling mistakes people used to watch for, and fake identity documents used to “prove” a scammer is a lawyer or agent.

You do not need to become a deepfake expert. Instead, judge the request rather than the face or voice: any message that pushes you to send crypto quickly, keep a secret, or pay to unlock money gets verified through a separate channel you control, such as calling a relative on their known number.

Red-flag checklist

Scams change their costumes constantly, but the underlying script barely changes. If you see even one of these, slow down. If you see two or more, assume it is a scam until proven otherwise.

• Unexpected contact. A stranger, a “wrong number” text, or an old acquaintance who suddenly wants to talk about money.
• Guaranteed or unusually high returns. Real investments carry risk and never guarantee profits.
• Urgency. “Act now,” “limited spots,” “your account will be frozen,” “a warrant will be issued.”
• Secrecy. Being told not to tell your bank, family or friends.
• Payment in crypto, gift cards, wires or crypto ATMs. Especially when the request comes from someone claiming to be the government, police, a utility, your bank or tech support.
• A platform you can only reach through their link. An app or website you cannot find independently, or one with no verifiable registration.
• Fees or “taxes” before withdrawals. A real platform deducts fees; it does not demand a fresh deposit to release your money.
• Requests for your seed phrase, private key or screen sharing. These are never legitimate.
• Prompts to “connect your wallet” or sign something you do not understand. A single signature can hand over your tokens.
• Celebrity or brand giveaways. “Send 1, get 2 back” offers are always fake.
• Romance plus money. An online partner who has never met you on live video but has investment tips.

Not sure about something specific? Run it through our scam check tool.

How scams reach people

Scammers go wherever attention is cheap. According to the FTC, nearly 30% of people who reported losing money to a scam in 2025 said it started on social media, with $2.1 billion in reported losses, about eight times the 2020 figure. Text messages were the most commonly reported first contact.

Text messages

“Wrong number” texts, fake toll or delivery notices, and messages pretending to be your bank or exchange. Chainalysis traced how one phishing network sent fake E-ZPass toll texts to Americans at enormous scale in 2025. Never tap links in unexpected texts.

Dating apps and romance

A match that quickly moves the chat to WhatsApp or Telegram, avoids video calls, and eventually shares an “investment strategy.” The FTC says nearly 60% of people who reported losing money to a romance scam in 2025 said it began on social media.

Social media DMs and groups

Fake mentors, “successful traders,” and investment groups filled with fake testimonials. Scammers also hack real accounts to message the owner's friends.

Fake ads and search ads

Paid ads that lead to lookalike wallet downloads, fake exchanges or phishing pages. Scammers buy the same targeting tools real businesses use. Type addresses yourself or use bookmarks for anything involving your money.

YouTube and other live streams

Hijacked channels re-broadcast old interviews or AI-generated video of well-known figures with a QR code promising to double any crypto you send. No real person or company gives away crypto this way.

Telegram, Discord and WhatsApp

Fake “support” accounts, pump groups, fake airdrop bots and private “VIP” trading rooms. The FBI has documented recovery scammers who place victims in group chats with fake lawyers and bank officers.

Phone calls

Government and law enforcement impersonation is a major channel for pushing people to crypto ATMs. The IC3 reported nearly 61,000 complaints of law enforcement or government impersonation between January 2025 and July 2026, with losses topping $1.6 billion.

The main types of crypto scams

Each of these guides explains how the scheme works, the warning signs, and what to do.

• Pig butchering scams: relationship-based fake investment platforms, the costliest crypto fraud.
• Recovery scams: fake lawyers, investigators and “agencies” that target people who already lost money.
• Phishing and wallet drainers: fake sites, malicious approvals and permit signatures that empty wallets.
• Address poisoning: lookalike addresses planted in your transaction history.
• Impersonation and giveaway scams: fake support, fake celebrities, fake exchanges and apps.
• Crypto ATM scams: cash fed into kiosks under pressure from fake officials.

The never-do rules

Memorize these. They block the vast majority of crypto scams no matter how convincing the story.

1. Never share your seed phrase or private keys with anyone, for any reason. See our seed phrase guide.
2. Never send crypto to someone you have only met online, however long you have been talking.
3. Never pay a government agency, police, court, utility or bank in crypto. They do not ask for it.
4. Never withdraw cash and feed it into a crypto ATM because a caller told you to.
5. Never install software or allow screen sharing for someone who contacted you first.
6. Never sign a wallet request you do not understand, especially on a site you reached through a link.
7. Never pay a fee to unlock a withdrawal or to “recover” lost funds.
8. Never copy an address from your transaction history without checking it in full. Our guide on how to send crypto safely shows a reliable routine.
9. Never let anyone rush you. Hang up, close the chat, and verify through a channel you find yourself.

What to do in the first hour after a scam

Speed matters because stolen funds move quickly. Feeling ashamed is normal, and scammers count on it. Act anyway.

1. Stop all payments. Do not send “one more” fee, tax or deposit to release your money. Cut contact with the scammer.
2. Secure what is left. If your seed phrase was exposed, move remaining funds to a new wallet with a new phrase on a clean device. If you signed a malicious approval, revoke it. Change passwords and turn on app-based two-factor authentication for email and exchange accounts.
3. Call your bank or card issuer if money left a bank account or card, and ask about stopping or recalling transfers.
4. Contact the exchange. Use official support for the exchange you sent from and, if known, the one that received the funds. Ask them to flag or freeze the receiving account.
5. Save the evidence. Screenshots of chats and profiles, website addresses, phone numbers, transaction IDs, wallet addresses, dates and amounts.
6. Report it. File at ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov, file a local police report, and add the scam address to Chainabuse.
7. Brace for the follow-up scam. Expect messages from fake recovery services. The IC3 and FTC do not contact victims to offer paid recovery.

For lost access rather than theft, such as a broken device or missing seed phrase, see our wallet recovery guide.

Protect yourself and your family

• Agree on a family code word for emergency money requests, since voices can now be cloned.
• Talk with older relatives about crypto ATM and government impersonation scams; they are frequent targets.
• Bookmark the official sites of your wallet and exchange and only log in through those bookmarks.
• Keep long-term holdings in a hardware wallet and only small amounts in hot wallets you use for apps.
• Limit who can see your social media profile and friend list.
• Before investing, use our guide on how to evaluate a crypto project.

If you are helping someone else

People deep inside a scam often defend the scammer, especially in romance and investment schemes. Arguing rarely works. Ask calm questions instead: have you met this person on live video, can you withdraw your full balance today without paying a fee, and can you find this platform without their link? Offer to report together. People 60 and older who need help filing with the IC3 can call the DOJ Elder Justice Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311).

Scams thrive on isolation and speed. Taking a pause, checking with someone you trust, and following the never-do rules puts you well ahead of the people trying to trick you.

Updated October 4, 2026 by The Crypto Guide editorial team. Educational content, not financial, legal or tax advice. Spot an error? Request a correction.