#CryptoScamSurge

In the first half of 2025, crypto scams and hacks resulted in nearly $2.5 billion in losses, significantly exceeding total figures from 2024 . Chainalysis reports that $2.17 billion was stolen during this period—driven by major incidents such as the $1.5 billion ByBit exchange hack, the largest crypto heist on record .

Particularly damaging are “pig butchering” scams, which combined romance and investment fraud to manipulate victims over weeks. In 2024, these scams alone caused approximately $5.5 billion in losses across 200,000 cases . In 2025, over 50% of total scam revenue came from high-yield investment schemes, while pig butchering accounted for 33%, with phishing, employment, and rug pulls making up the rest .

AI-driven tactics—like deepfake videos and synthetic identities—are increasingly enabling scammers to scale operations cheaply and convincingly . The global fraud rate jumped nearly 48% in 2024, with the U.S., Europe, Asia‑Pacific, and Latin America all experiencing steep rises .

These trends underscore a growing threat: fraudsters are combining emotional manipulation, tech‑savvy execution, and geopolitical sophistication to exploit victims and crypto platforms alike.