What is scam in cryptocurrency: types and signs

As the crypto industry evolves, so do the scams. Fraudsters are no longer limited to simple fake projects – they now adapt to market trends, exploit psychology, leverage artificial intelligence, and even take advantage of leaked personal data. While you’re looking for ways to make money with crypto, scammers are actively looking for ways to make money off of you. Let’s explore the most common schemes and see which crypto scams are the most widespread.

By 2025, fraudsters have become so ingenious that their schemes resemble Hollywood thrillers. They use artificial intelligence, manipulate psychology, and even steal your data before you've even decided to give it to someone. So how do you avoid becoming a victim? Let's look at the latest signs of cryptocurrency scam and learn how to recognize it.

If you are promised a 100% profit in a week, but the risks are reduced to zero, you are probably looking at 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 networks. Even the most successful investors lose money in the market, and scammers play on greed and 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 transaction is made - your transfer of money to the scammers.

If a project promises a “revolution” in crypto-finance, but at the same time it has no official documents, the team hides its faces, and the website was created on its knees - run away. Transparency is the basis of trust, and if there is none, it means you are facing a trap.

In 2024, cases have surfaced of scammers creating “same-day” websites using AI to generate logos, white papers, and even fake interviews with non-existent founders. Check everything from the site's domain (if it was registered yesterday, that's a bad sign) to whether it has real reviews.

Respected companies always indicate their legal entity and address in the user agreement or on the official website. If these data are missing or you are offered to “invest” in a company without a legal status, you are looking at a classic sign of scam.

But even if the address is specified, don't be in a hurry to relax - scammers like to specify fake or fictitious addresses. Check whether such a company exists in the registers (for example, on the sites of regulators), clarify what types of activities it conducts. If the address is a hairdresser's shop and they promise you investments in blockchain, that's a red flag.

If the project is aggressively advertised in Telegram, Instagram and TikTok, and the feedback on it sounds like an advertisement for laundry powder - be careful. Real investors don't write “This is a super project, thanks to the team, I believe in you!” but leave more restrained and meaningful comments.

Scammers often use bots that create the illusion of popularity. In 2025, there is a new scheme - “live” fake reviews with voice messages in Telegram. They are recorded by actors posing as ordinary investors, which makes the deception even more realistic.

If you suddenly get an email from “Binance support” telling you that your account has been hacked but they can help - you're looking at social engineering in action. Scammers use psychology to stress you out and get you to make a hasty decision - like giving “support” access to your wallet.

In 2025, calls using AI-generated voices are 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 trap you and extort your data.

Scammers no longer guess if you have cryptocurrency - they already know. Thanks to data leaks, they have advance information about your investments, email addresses, and even your favorite exchanges.

A new trend is personalized attacks, in which the victim is sent an email or message perfectly tailored to their interests. For example, if you were interested in NFT, you may be sent an “exclusive invitation” to sell a rare token, which in reality turns out to be a trap.

As one famous character used to say, “If someone earns for free, it means someone else is laboring for free.” In the world of cryptocurrencies, this wisdom is more relevant than ever. Let's take a look at real cases of crypto-scams that have progressed in recent years, leaving thousands of people without money and illusions.

The old but unforgettable BitConnect has become, perhaps, the benchmark of crypto-Ponzi. The project promised returns of up to 40% per month, allegedly due to a “unique bot” for trading. In reality, the payout came at the expense of new investors, and when the pyramid collapsed in 2018, investors lost more than $2.4 billion. The final chord - an unforgettable presentation with a stage-shouting “BitConnnnnnnnnnnnnnnect!” - has forever become a meme in the crypto world.

On the wave of popularity of the Squid Game series, the SQUID token appeared, which rose in price by 2300% in a matter of days. Investors bought it in the hope of participating in the “future meta-universe”. But at one point the developers withdrew all the funds, the rate of scam coin (cryptocurrency for “mammoths”) collapsed to zero, and thousands of people were left with nothing. A perfect example of why you should not invest in projects without studying their founders and documentation.

A story that shook the entire cryptocurrency world. The largest exchange FTX, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), found itself in the midst of a huge financial scandal. Billions of customer dollars were used to fund personal trades and expenses of an affiliated company, Alameda Research. When the fraud was uncovered, the exchange collapsed, investors lost more than $8 billion, and SBF found itself in court, facing charges of financial fraud.

When scammers say their project will “kill bitcoin,” it's time to question it. OneCoin promised exactly that - a new cryptocurrency that would “revolutionize the market”. In fact, the coin didn't even exist on the blockchain. Project leader Ruja Ignatova raised $4.4 billion over five years and then disappeared. She is still being sought by the FBI.

SafeMoon was positioned as an innovative DeFi token that would “reward holders and punish speculators.” But while investors rejoiced at the rising price, the project's creators gradually drained funds through complex schemes. In 2023, investigations revealed that millions of dollars had “leaked” from the founders' wallets, and the project turned out to be a typical “exit scam”.

In October 2022, trader Abraham Eisenberg found a gap in the Mango Markets platform and with the help of clever manipulations withdrew $116 million. He himself called it a “profitable trading strategy”, but the court decided otherwise. Notably, the fraudster initially tried to negotiate with the community to return some of the funds, but later he was arrested anyway. This case illustrates how the vulnerabilities of DeFi projects can turn against their users.

HyperVerse promised users stable passive income from “participating in a meta-universe” where one could “make money from cyberspace.” However, as with BitConnect, no real assets existed, and the payment of “dividends” came at the expense of new investors. When the flow of new investments dried up, the project collapsed, leaving behind multimillion-dollar losses.

Protecting your funds requires awareness and precautions:

If you don't understand cryptocurrencies, DeFi, NFT, or staking, you shouldn't invest in these assets relying only on advertising or advice from “experts on Telegram.” Financial literacy is your ultimate shield. Before investing money, understand how the project works, what technologies it uses, study its documentation and independent reviews.

Today, there are many tools that help users protect themselves from scammers:

• AML services to verify cryptocurrency addresses. For example, Btrace is a tool that allows you to analyze crypto addresses for links to illegal transactions and fraudulent schemes. Before sending funds, make sure your counterparty is not involved in questionable transactions.
• Monitor blockchain activity. Connect services that alert you to suspicious movements on your wallets.
• Official crypto exchanges and wallets. Use only licensed platforms with a good reputation and history of operation.

Your private key, seed phrase or 2FA code are like keys to your apartment. If someone asks for them “for verification” or “to speed up a transaction” - you are a scammer. Remember: support services of crypto exchanges and wallets never ask users for these data.

If an “analyst” who offers a scheme with “guaranteed income” writes to you in a private message - it's a scam. Real experts work in the market, not sending advice to random people.

If you have been the victim of a scam, it is important to act quickly: