Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal has issued a serious warning to the crypto community about a surge in AI-powered scams targeting startups in the industry. As reported by PANews, scammers have been using advanced AI tools to create convincing fake video representations of Nailwal in an attempt to deceive emerging crypto ventures.
The scheme began when hackers compromised the Telegram account of Shreyansh Singh, head of Polygon Ventures. Posing as Singh, they reached out to startups, pretending to initiate investment discussions and invited them to join Zoom meetings. During these meetings, the fraudsters presented AI-generated visuals of Nailwal, Singh, and fake team members—with no live audio—to gain credibility and convince victims to install malicious software development kits (SDKs).
Nailwal shared that multiple founders contacted him directly to verify the legitimacy of these meetings. He strongly urged the community to avoid installing any unfamiliar software during unsolicited outreach and stressed the importance of operational security.
“These attack methods are becoming increasingly sophisticated,” Nailwal said. “The safest approach is to use a dedicated laptop for wallet signing only—and never use it for any other purpose.”