In the world of cryptocurrency, the term scam refers to various forms of fraud aimed at deceiving investors and stealing their funds. With the development of digital financial instruments, the number of such schemes has significantly increased, and understanding their nature is key to protecting your assets.
Types of Cryptocurrency Scams
With the development of the crypto industry, fraudulent schemes are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Today, perpetrators do not limit themselves to simple fake projects – they adapt to market trends, use psychological tricks, artificial intelligence, and even exploit personal data leaks. In general, while you are looking for ways to earn from crypto, scammers are just as actively looking for ways to profit from you. Let’s explore which schemes are most common and which scams in crypto are the most popular.
Fake Wallets
Imagine walking into a bank, handing the cashier all your money, and he smiles and disappears. This is how fake crypto wallets operate. They look like well-known applications (MetaMask, Trust Wallet), but in reality, they just forward your funds to scammers.
In 2024, a new threat emerged – "smart" wallets powered by artificial intelligence that supposedly help you manage your assets. But in reality, they only "help" scammers get rich at your expense, implementing hidden mechanisms to steal funds.$BTC
Fake ICOs and IDOs
The old trick of collecting money from gullible investors is to promise them mountains of gold, calling it an innovative project. Scammers use generative AI to create fake websites, white papers, and even fake video interviews with "developers." It’s like buying shares in a company that doesn’t even have an office but has a nice presentation.
A vivid example is the Pincoin project, which raised over $660 million in 2018, and then the team simply vanished. Today, fraudsters have adapted and are offering "revolutionary" DeFi and AI projects that literally no one had heard of a week ago.$LTC
Pump and Dump Schemes
It’s like a school lemonade sale, only here someone artificially inflates prices and then sells everything, leaving others with empty cups.
Currently, scammers use bots and AI algorithms to heat up interest in a token. In 2023, mass #pump & #dump -stocks on Telegram and Twitter lured thousands of investors into a trap. Let’s recall the Squid Game Token – its price soared by 2300%, but within a few days it fell to zero, leaving investors without money and with the realization that free cheese is only found in a mousetrap.
Pyramids and Ponzi Schemes
If you are promised a return of 300% per year, it’s likely a pyramid. You invest money, and the "income" is paid out from new investors. This works until there are no new victims left.
Today, technologies #deepfakes allow scammers to create fake videos where "Elon Musk" or "Vitalik Buterin" recommend investing in the next pyramid. Audio AI adds realistic voice messages to this. A number of such scams managed to attract millions of dollars before disappearing.$COS
Phishing Attacks
Phishing is when you receive an email from a "bank" asking you to urgently confirm your details, otherwise your "account will be blocked." In cryptocurrency, this works similarly: you receive a link to a clone of the exchange’s website, where you enter your details and say goodbye to your funds.
Currently, scammers use database leaks, combining emails, phone numbers, and information about past investments. This allows them to write personalized messages to victims – and it’s hard not to believe when they address you by name and mention your last deposit.
Fake Exchanges and Exchange Services
It’s like trying to exchange rubles for dollars with a stranger in an alley – there’s a risk of walking away without either rubles or dollars. Scammers create copies of real cryptocurrency exchanges, where users can deposit funds but cannot withdraw money.
Modern scams include the use of support bots that convincingly explain why your account is "temporarily blocked," but to unblock it, you just need to deposit a few more thousand dollars. Cryptocurrency exchange scams are a very common phenomenon.
Mining Scams
Sounds tempting – invest money in "eco-friendly" cloud mining and earn passive income. The problem is that in 90% of cases, this "mining" only exists on a web page.
Modern schemes entice with "green technologies" – promising that your bitcoins will be mined solely using solar energy. In reality, the only ones making a profit are the scam organizers.
Fake Support Services
If a "support service" writes to you asking for verification details and to pay an insurance deposit, know that real companies don’t operate this way.
Now scammers are going further: they use chatbots with neural networks that conduct conversations so convincingly that even experienced users can fall for it. Such "operators" can chat for hours until you decide to give them your password or transfer money.
Signs and How to Recognize a Scam
By 2025, scammers had become so inventive that their schemes resembled Hollywood thrillers. They use artificial intelligence, manipulate psychology, and even steal your data before you decide to pass it on to someone. How not to become a victim? Let’s analyze the latest signs of cryptocurrency scams and learn how to recognize them.
If you are promised a profit of 100% in a week, with risks reduced to zero – you are likely facing a scam. Investments are always associated with risk, and a guarantee of high returns without effort is like an offer to get a Harvard diploma for a couple of likes on social media. Even the most successful investors lose money in the market, while scammers play on greed and the fear of missing out.
New schemes in 2025 include automated "investment bots" that supposedly analyze the market and make trades for you. The problem is that only one real trade is made – your transfer of money to the scammers.
If a project promises a "revolution" in crypto finance but has no official documents, the team hides their faces, and the site looks hastily put together – run. Transparency is the foundation of trust, and if it’s absent, it means you are facing a trap.
In 2024, cases emerged where scammers created "one-day" websites, using AI to generate logos, white papers, and even fake interviews with non-existent founders. Check everything – from the domain of the site (if it was registered yesterday, that’s a bad sign) to the presence of real reviews.
Reputable companies always provide their legal entity and address in the user agreement or on the official website. If this information is missing, or if you are offered to "invest" in a company without legal status – you are facing a classic sign of a scam.
But even if the address is provided, don’t rush to relax – scammers love to provide fake or fictitious addresses. Check whether such a company exists in the registries (for example, on regulator websites), and clarify what types of activities it conducts. If there’s a hair salon at the address while you're promised investments in blockchain – that’s a red flag.
If a project is aggressively advertised on Telegram, Instagram, and TikTok, and the reviews sound like laundry detergent commercials – be cautious. Real investors don’t write "This is a super project, thank you team, I believe in you!"; they leave more reserved and thoughtful comments.
Scammers often use bots to create the illusion of popularity. In 2025, a new scheme appeared – "live" fake reviews with voice messages on Telegram. They are recorded by actors pretending to be regular investors, making the deception even more realistic.
If you suddenly receive a message from "support #Binance " saying that your account has been hacked but they can help – you are facing social engineering in action. Scammers use psychology to induce stress and force you to make hasty decisions – for example, giving the "support service" access to your wallet.
In 2025, calls using AI-generated voices became particularly popular. You may be "invited" to a cryptocurrency conference or "congratulated" on winning a contest you don’t even remember. The main goal is to lure you into a trap and extract your data.
Scammers no longer guess whether you have cryptocurrency – they already know. Thanks to data leaks, they obtain information about your investments, mailing addresses, and even favorite exchanges in advance.
A new trend is personalized attacks, where the victim receives a letter or message perfectly tailored to their interests. For example, if you've shown interest in NFTs, you might receive an "exclusive invitation" to a sale of a rare token that turns out to be a trap.
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