Chainalysis Reports Surge in Crypto Scams Driven by Impersonation and AI-Enabled Fraud

Chainalysis reported that cryptocurrency scams and fraud generated an estimated $17B in victim losses in 2025, making it the largest year on record in its tracking, with at least $14B observed on-chain and expectations that totals will rise as additional illicit addresses are identified. The report attributes the increase to the continued industrialization of scam operations and infrastructure, including phishing-as-a-service, AI-generated deepfakes, and professional money-laundering networks, alongside major scam categories such as pig butchering/romance scams and HYIP-style schemes. Chainalysis also assessed that scam efficiency increased materially, citing a 253% YoY rise in average scam payment (from $782 in 2024 to $2,764 in 2025) and noting that AI-enabled scams can be significantly more profitable than traditional approaches.

A key driver highlighted was the rapid growth of impersonation scams, which Chainalysis said rose roughly 1,400% YoY, with average payments to those clusters up more than 600%. One example cited was an E‑ZPass-themed smishing campaign that used fake toll-payment texts and lookalike sites to deceive victims; Chainalysis linked this activity to the Chinese-speaking group “Darcula” / “Smishing Triad,” and referenced reporting and legal action describing tooling and templates used to scale these lures. Separately, reporting on AI deepfake impersonation shows similar social-engineering dynamics outside of “crypto-only” contexts, including deepfakes impersonating religious figures to solicit donations and promote fraudulent crypto-related offers, reinforcing the report’s broader finding that AI-assisted impersonation is increasing the reach and credibility of scams.