Crypto Scams: The 8 Types That Take the Most Money, and How to Spot Every One
Americans reported $11.4 billion in crypto fraud losses in 2025. Here are the crypto scams doing the damage, the one pattern they all share, and what to do if you have already sent money.
Crypto scams are schemes that trick you into sending cryptocurrency, or into handing over the keys that control it. They are the single biggest source of losses in crypto, far bigger than hacks or market crashes for ordinary people.
The numbers are large and still climbing. The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report logged 181,565 complaints involving cryptocurrency and $11.366 billion in losses, a 22% increase over 2024. The average reported loss was $62,604. Crypto was involved in more than half of all internet crime losses the FBI recorded that year.
This guide covers the scams that do most of that damage, the single pattern they share, and what to do if you have already sent money. None of it requires technical knowledge. Nearly every crypto scam works on people, not on code.
The One Thing Every Crypto Scam Has in Common
Every crypto scam ends the same way: you move the money yourself.
Scammers almost never “hack” a beginner. They persuade you to send crypto to an address they control, to type your seed phrase into a form, or to approve a transaction you did not read. The blockchain then does exactly what you told it to do.
That is why crypto scams are so costly. A bank transfer can sometimes be reversed. A crypto transaction cannot. Once it is confirmed, no company, court or support line can pull it back, because no one has that power over the network. Learning to spot the request is the whole defense.
The 8 Most Common Crypto Scams
1. Pig Butchering (Long-Con Investment Scams)
This is the biggest category by far. The FBI recorded 61,559 cryptocurrency investment fraud complaints with $7.228 billion in losses in 2025, up 25% from the year before.
It starts with a stranger. A wrong-number text, a dating app match, a friendly LinkedIn contact. Weeks of ordinary conversation follow. Eventually they mention how well they have done trading crypto and offer to show you their platform.
The platform looks real. You deposit a small amount and watch it grow. You may even withdraw a little, which builds trust. Then you deposit more. When you try to take out the big balance, a “tax” or “unlock fee” appears. Then another. The balance was never real. The name comes from the practice of “fattening the pig” before the slaughter.
The tell: someone you have never met in person is steering you toward a specific trading site or app. No legitimate relationship includes that.
2. Impersonation Scams (Fake Support, Fake Exchanges, Fake Government)
Scammers pose as Coinbase support, your bank, the IRS, or even the FBI. They call, text or email with an urgent problem: your account is compromised, your funds are frozen, you owe a fine.
The fix they offer always involves moving your crypto. “Transfer it to this safe wallet while we secure your account.” There is no safe wallet. It is theirs.
This category is growing fastest. Chainalysis’s 2026 Crypto Crime Report measured 1,400% year-over-year growth in impersonation scams, and it names one real case: a man who took nearly $16 million from victims by posing as Coinbase customer service.
The tell: a real exchange will never ask you to move funds to protect them, and a real government agency will never demand payment in crypto.
3. Crypto ATM Scams
Crypto ATMs (often called Bitcoin ATMs) turn cash into crypto on the spot. Scammers love them because they let a victim who has never owned crypto send it within minutes.
The script is usually an impersonation scam with a twist: “Withdraw cash from your bank and deposit it into this machine, then scan this QR code.” The QR code is the scammer’s address. The FBI counted 13,460 crypto ATM complaints and $389 million in losses in 2025, a 58% jump. Older adults are hit hardest.
The tell: no legitimate business, agency or relative in trouble will ever ask you to feed cash into a crypto kiosk.
4. Phishing and Fake Websites
A fake site that copies a real wallet, exchange or app. You reach it through a search ad, a lookalike link in an email, or a DM. It asks you to “verify” or “restore” your wallet by entering your seed phrase, or it prompts a transaction that hands over your tokens.
Search ads are a real attack surface here. Fake versions of popular apps have bought ads above the real result, which is why the Lido staking guide tells you to type the address yourself.
The tell: any site, app or person asking for your seed phrase or private key is stealing. There are no exceptions.
5. Wallet Drainers and Malicious Approvals
This is the version that feels like a hack but is not. You connect your wallet to a site, often one promoted as a free mint or airdrop, and it asks you to sign something. That signature grants it permission to move your tokens. Minutes later, they are gone.
The mechanism is the token approval, which our DeFi guide covers in detail. Approvals are often unlimited and never expire, so an old approval to a bad contract can drain you months later. Revoke.cash lets you see and cancel them.
The tell: a surprise “claim your reward” page, and a wallet popup you do not fully understand. If you cannot explain what you are signing, do not sign it.
6. Fake Tokens and Rug Pulls
Anyone can create a token on Ethereum in minutes. Scammers launch one, hype it on social media, and let the price climb as buyers pile in. Then they sell their huge supply at once or pull the liquidity from the pool, and the token collapses to near zero. That is a rug pull.
A related trick uses the names of real tokens. A fake “USDC” can have the same name and logo as the real one. Only the contract address is different. Our ERC-20 token guide explains how to check it.
The tell: a brand-new token, anonymous developers, and a promise that it will “100x.” Real projects do not need countdown timers.
7. Giveaway and Doubling Scams
“Send 1 ETH, get 2 ETH back.” These scams impersonate celebrities, founders or companies, often through hijacked accounts or deepfake livestreams on YouTube. Chainalysis found scams linked to AI tools earned 4.5 times more revenue per operation than those without, and deepfakes are a big reason why.
The tell: nobody doubles your money. Not Vitalik Buterin, not Elon Musk, not any exchange.
8. Address Poisoning
A scammer sends a tiny or zero-value transaction to your wallet from an address that looks almost identical to one you use. It matches the first and last few characters. Later, you copy an address from your transaction history and grab theirs by mistake.
Our wallet address guide walks through real cases, including a trader who lost $843,000 and then $1.75 million the same way.
The tell: there is no warning at all, which is what makes it dangerous. The only defense is habit: never copy addresses from transaction history, and check the whole address.
Crypto Scams at a Glance
| Scam | How it reaches you | What they want | Fastest way to spot it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pig butchering | Text, dating app, social media | Deposits into a fake platform | A stranger recommends a trading site |
| Impersonation | Call, text, email | You move funds to “safety” | Real companies never ask you to move funds |
| Crypto ATM | Phone call with urgent threat | Cash fed into a kiosk | Any request to use a crypto ATM |
| Phishing site | Search ad, email link, DM | Your seed phrase | Anything asking for your seed phrase |
| Wallet drainer | Free mint, airdrop, DM link | A signature on an approval | Surprise reward plus a confusing popup |
| Rug pull / fake token | Social media hype | Your buy orders | New token, anonymous team, “100x” |
| Giveaway / doubling | Fake celebrity post or livestream | A “deposit” to receive more | Anyone offering to double your crypto |
| Address poisoning | Tiny transfer into your wallet | You copy the wrong address | Nothing visible, so habits matter |
Red Flags That Apply to Every Scam
Individual scams change every year. These warning signs do not:
- Urgency. “Act in the next hour or lose everything.” Pressure exists to stop you from thinking.
- Guaranteed returns. No real investment guarantees a profit, least of all in crypto.
- A request for your seed phrase or private key. Always theft. Every time.
- Payment only in crypto or gift cards. Legitimate agencies and businesses accept normal payment methods.
- Secrecy. “Don’t tell your bank, they won’t understand.” Scammers isolate victims from people who would stop them.
- Fees to withdraw your own money. A real platform does not charge a surprise “tax” before releasing your balance.
- A stranger who wants to help you invest. The friendlier and more patient they are, the more careful you should be.
The FBI’s data shows how well these scams hide. Of the victims its Operation Level Up contacted in 2025, 78% did not know they were being scammed until the FBI told them.
How to Protect Yourself
- Never share your seed phrase or private key. No wallet, exchange, support agent or government employee needs it.
- Type important URLs yourself or use bookmarks. Do not click search ads for wallets or exchanges.
- Treat every unexpected contact as suspicious. If “Coinbase” calls, hang up and open the app yourself.
- Send a small test transaction before any large transfer, and verify the full address.
- Read wallet popups before you sign, and revoke approvals you no longer use at revoke.cash.
- Keep long-term holdings in a separate wallet from the one you connect to apps. Our hot vs cold wallet guide explains the split.
- Slow down. Every scam on this list depends on you acting before you think.
What to Do If You Have Been Scammed
Move fast, and be realistic. Recovering crypto is rare, but acting quickly still matters.
- Stop sending money. Do not pay any “fee” to unlock or recover funds. It is part of the same scam.
- Secure what is left. If you shared a seed phrase, create a brand-new wallet and move remaining funds to it immediately. Revoke any approvals from the old one.
- Report it to the FBI at ic3.gov and to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Include transaction hashes and the addresses involved, which you can find on Etherscan.
- Tell the exchange you sent from, and the one that received the funds if you know it. Exchanges can sometimes freeze stolen funds that land on their platform.
- Watch for recovery scams. Victims get targeted a second time by fake “fund recovery” firms, fake lawyers, and even people impersonating the IC3. The FBI logged 10,516 recovery scam complaints and $1.4 billion in losses in 2025. Anyone who contacts you promising to get your crypto back for an upfront fee is running this scam.
Is Crypto Itself a Scam?
No. Crypto scams use crypto the way email scams use email. The technology is a tool, and it is popular with scammers for the same reason people value it: payments are fast, global and final.
Whether Ethereum itself is legitimate is a separate question, and we answer it in full in Is Ethereum a Scam? The short version is that the network is real and the risk sits almost entirely with the people you interact with on it.
The Bottom Line
Crypto scams took more than $11 billion from Americans in 2025, and almost none of it required breaking any code. Every scam here works by persuading you to send funds, share a seed phrase, or sign something you did not read.
Hold on to two rules and you avoid nearly all of it: never share your seed phrase, and never send crypto because someone else created urgency. Everything else is detail.
This article is educational and is not financial or legal advice. If you have lost funds, report it to the FBI and FTC and speak with a qualified professional.
Related Reading
- Is Ethereum a Scam?
- What Is a Seed Phrase?
- What Is a Private Key?
- What Is a Crypto Wallet Address?
- Hot Wallet vs Cold Wallet
- Custodial vs Non-Custodial Wallets
- Crypto Wallets Explained
