Associated Incidents
AI tools such as chatbots, deepfake software, and fake ID generators have helped criminals automate and expand the process of carrying out crypto scams and other related crimes, according to 'The state of crypto scams 2025' report by blockchain analytics platform Elliptic.
As per existing data, a significant portion of scam-related losses involve crypto. In fact, $9.3 billion of $16.6 billion of U.S. fraud losses last year were crypto-based, according to a statistic from the FBI.
"The last year saw a rise in sextortion, pig butchering, memecoin-based rug-pulls and deepfake incentive scams. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including chatbots, deepfake software and fake ID generators, are enabling the automation and scaling up of many of these scam types," noted the report by Elliptic.
Tools such as AI chatbots and deepfake generators make it easier to fool victims and lure them into scams, even in spite of linguistic barriers. Meanwhile, deepfake videos featuring celebrity endorsements can fool victims into handing over their funds or credentials. For example, Elliptic's report noted that North Korean threat actors have used deepfakes to impersonate crypto executives. They also used video calls to distribute malware, per the report.
"Indicators throughout 2024 have suggested that scams are becoming the most lucrative form of illicit activity in the crypto space. Dedicated illicit online marketplaces that sell goods and services to organized fraud rings, exposed by Elliptic, have processed over $30 billion in crypto -- well above the volumes flowing through traditional drugs-focused dark web markets," noted the report.