Crypto continues to gain traction in the mainstream. According to a joint study from Harris Poll and the National Cryptocurrency Association, 55 million people owned or used some type of cryptocurrency in 2025. Its use also jumped about 50% in the first six months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, pushing transaction volume over $1 trillion.
Not surprisingly, cryptocurrency scam reports are also on the rise. After all, the same qualities that make crypto attractive to users also make it popular to scammers: fast transfers, payments that can't be reversed and wallet addresses that don't clearly show who owns them.
As crypto use becomes more common, it's crucial to understand how to spot the scams that may target you. Here are seven of the most common cryptocurrency-related scams to watch out for.
1. Investment Scams
Crypto scam victims lost an average of $62,604 in 2025, and investment fraud was the biggest category with $7.2 billion in losses, according to the FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report.
Watch out for phony investment pitches. These scams pitch you on a new coin, project or trading "opportunity" that promises big returns.
Common types of crypto investment scams include:
- Crypto exit scams: A company raises money through an initial coin offering (ICO) but then shuts down and steals the funds before ever building an actual product.
- Rug pulls: A type of exit scam where you buy a coin that's actually trading, but the developers cash out their own holdings all at once, crashing the price to near zero and leaving you stuck with a worthless coin.
- Fake investment platforms: Here, scammers try to convince you to invest on a site or app that looks legitimate. Often, your account shows initial signs of success on small investments. Then, you're encouraged to invest larger amounts. When you try to cash out, though, you're faced with unexpected fees, taxes or a frozen account, while the scammers vanish with your money.
- Pump-and-dump schemes: Scammers create hype around a low-value coin or buy a lot of it at once to make the price look like it's rising fast. Once the price peaks, they cash out and the coin crashes.
- Ponzi and pyramid schemes: These scams persuade you to invest with promises of high returns—but real profits don't actually exist. Instead, existing investors are paid with money from new investors. The scam falls apart when new people stop joining.
How to Avoid Them
Ignore anyone who guarantees you'll make money on a crypto investment. Legitimate investments don't make specific promises or guarantees. When you notice pressure to "get in now" before you miss out, consider it a red flag.
Before putting money into a coin or project, do your due diligence to find out who's behind it and how the project works. If you can't find clear answers, walk away. Only invest in well-known exchanges and established cryptocurrencies, which carry less risk—though none are immune to scams.
Be aware: After you've lost money to a crypto scam, you may be targeted again by "fund recovery specialists" who promise to get your money back for a fee. But the help never comes. Real recovery services don't charge upfront fees, and federal agencies never charge victims to investigate.
2. Phishing Scams
Phishing is a classic type of fraud in which a scammer attempts to get your personal information, such as your name, address, Social Security number and passwords. Or, if you're a cryptocurrency investor, a scammer's efforts might be focused on nabbing the seed words or private key from one of your cryptocurrency wallets.
Crypto phishing scams usually go after the private key to your online wallet. Initially, you may receive an email that looks legit and asks you to click a link and log in. The link leads you to a fake website designed to collect your personal information, including your private key. Once they have the key, they access your funds and drain them.
How to Avoid Them
Never share your private keys or wallet information with anyone, period. A real exchange or wallet provider has no reason to ask. If you get an unexpected message about your account, don't click anything in it. Instead, open your exchange or wallet app on your own and check from there.
Turn on an authenticator app for multifactor authentication instead of text message codes. Scammers can hijack your phone number through a SIM swap, which lets them bypass text-based 2FA and take over your accounts.
Learn more: How to Protect Yourself With Multifactor Authentication
3. Giveaway Scams
Scammers often use social media to hype up fake crypto giveaways. They claim a celebrity or well-known businessperson will multiply any cryptocurrency you send to them. The scammers create fake social media profiles using real photos and bios, or hijack verified accounts to make the pitch look authentic.
The sad reality is the giveaway doesn't exist and your money disappears. Some versions of this scam use AI deepfake videos and pictures of public figures or natural disasters to appear more legitimate.
How to Avoid Them
These giveaways are often for "today only" or another fast-approaching deadline to get you to act quickly without confirming their legitimacy. The best way to avoid falling victim to fake giveaways is to ignore anyone who promises to give you free crypto. Real giveaways don't ask for money upfront.
4. Pig Butchering and Romance Scams
The term "pig butchering" sounds jarring, and the damage it leaves can be quite devastating. The scam's name comes from the way farmers fatten up livestock before slaughtering them. Similarly, this long-term scam starts when a scammer begins interacting with you online, often through social media or a dating app. A single interaction turns into regular conversation, and perhaps even a romantic relationship, over time.
Once fraudsters believe they have your trust, they'll "let you in" on a cryptocurrency investment with "guaranteed" returns. They'll usually guide you to invest your money through a website or app they control. You may even earn money on smaller test investments. Once you invest a large amount, they take your money and disappear.
Learn more: What Is a Romance Scam?
How to Avoid Them
Don't invest through a platform a stranger or new acquaintance refers you to, even if you've been talking for months and the returns on your account look real. A trading platform you can't find on a major app store or regulatory registry isn't legitimate.
Be cautious when an online relationship moves fast toward money, especially crypto. Someone you've never met in person asking you to invest is one of the biggest red flags of a scam.
5. Fake Apps and Websites
Cybercriminals create fake websites, apps and browser extensions with names nearly identical to trusted crypto services. A common version of this scam is websites with lookalike URLs that are spelled incorrectly or are a single letter off from well-known and trusted cryptocurrency platforms. Additionally, fraudsters now have fake wallet apps in app stores, fraudulent browser extensions and phony QR codes, all of which point to scammer-controlled wallets.
If you mistake one of these for the real thing and enter your login or personal information, scammers can steal your identity or drain your wallet.
How to Avoid Them
As a general rule, avoid logging in to any private or financial website or app through links in emails, texts or even search results. Scammers buy ads that rank above real companies, so don't assume the top search option is always a legitimate site.
Also, get your apps and extensions directly from the developer's site or a verified app store listing.
Learn more: What Is Smishing?
6. Blackmail Scams
With this extortion-style scam, scammers threaten to release embarrassing or incriminating information about you unless you pay them in cryptocurrency. The information may be real, fabricated or AI-generated. With the latter, "sextortion" scams use deepfake tools to create fake compromising photos or videos of the target. Some threats are specific and claim to have your search history, while others stay vague and let your imagination run wild. Scammers demand payment in Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency because it's hard to trace.
How to Avoid Them
As a general rule, don't pay or respond to these types of blackmail scams. In fact, paying confirms you're a real target and may even lead to more demands. If the threat names specific accounts or passwords, change those passwords immediately and make sure you have multifactor authentication activated.
7. Cryptocurrency Twists on Established Scams
Many scams may not target your cryptocurrency assets specifically, but simply use cryptocurrencies as a way to collect money from their victims. These scams usually aren't unique to cryptocurrency investors. Common scams include:
- Employment scams: When you're offered a job but have to pay for an initial training, software or other products before you can start.
- Marketplace scams: You try to buy something on an online marketplace, and the seller asks you to send cryptocurrency for payment. Once you send it, you'll likely never get the product or be able to reach the seller again.
- Tech support scams: There are several versions of these scams, but they usually involve scammers claiming to be from business you use or your bank. They may say your account or device has been compromised and demand a crypto payment to fix it.
How to Avoid Them
Be wary of any employer, seller or support rep who requires payment in cryptocurrency. Although crypto acceptance is more prevalent today, it's rarely a legitimate business requirement. At least for now, you should treat it as a red flag.
How to Report Cryptocurrency Scams
If you've been targeted by a crypto scam, report it as soon as possible. Fast reporting gives the FBI time to run its Financial Fraud Kill Chain, a rapid response program that works with banks to freeze stolen funds before the scammer can use them. In 2025, this program recovered $679 million with a 58% success rate on the money it tried to freeze.
Report to:
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): Submit a complaint to this FBI agency to help investigators track the scam and possibly freeze funds.
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC): File a report here to help authorities spot scams and crack down on them.
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC): This agency goes after fraud in futures and options markets, including certain crypto investments.
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): This agency goes after scams involving investments, including some crypto coins or tokens sold as investments.
You can also report the scam to the exchange, app or social media platform where it happened, which may ban the scammer's account.
Learn more: Identity Theft Victim Assistance
Monitor and Protect Your Identity
Crypto scams come in various forms but often share the same characteristics. They usually work to gain your trust, create fake urgency and ask you to send crypto or share private information. When you see these red flags, don't do anything until you verify whom you're dealing with and confirm the request is legitimate. And if they've already gained access to personal or account information, identity theft protection may help you minimize any damage.
While you're at it, explore protecting your credit as well, since scammers often use stolen information to open new accounts in your name. Consider signing up for free credit monitoring from Experian to get real-time alerts of changes to your Experian credit report and free access to your FICO® Score☉ Θ.