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New York is done playing nice about this. The state’s Division of Consumer Protection put out a formal warning on August 26, and the numbers behind it are pretty ugly — 144,041 consumers reported major financial losses to investment scams in 2025, a 38% jump from the year before. The median loss per victim: $10,560.
That 38% figure alone should stop anyone cold. But the broader picture is worse. The FBI tracked $20.877 billion in total internet-crime losses last year, and cryptocurrency-related complaints carved out $11.37 billion of that. The FTC, for its part, put overall investment fraud losses above $8 billion — with crypto, stocks, and forex scams running wild across social media, dating apps, and even what look like casual friendly chats that slowly turn into pitches.
AI Makes the Scams Nearly Impossible to Spot
Here’s where it gets harder to defend against. Scammers aren’t just sending sketchy emails anymore. They’re using AI tools to clone voices, fabricate videos, and build deepfake celebrity endorsements that can fool people who consider themselves savvy. New York Attorney General Letitia James specifically called out how deepfake technology gets weaponized — fake endorsements from recognizable faces, fraudulent cryptocurrencies dressed up with professional branding, the whole package.
Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley put it plainly: AI lets scammers build realistic messaging at scale. And that’s the real shift. It’s not that fraud is new. It’s that the production quality of the fraud has jumped dramatically. Polished ads, convincing trading platforms, fake account dashboards showing healthy returns — all of it generated fast and cheap.
The apps themselves are part of the con. Victims can log in, see what looks like a growing balance, watch simulated trades execute in real time. None of it is real. But it feels real, and that’s the point. Chatbots posing as customer support staff keep the illusion going, answering questions, reassuring nervous investors, nudging them toward bigger deposits.
And the nudging is deliberate. Operators often let early investors withdraw small amounts — $200, $500, whatever it takes to build trust. Then the ask gets bigger. Put in more to unlock higher returns. Move fast, the opportunity won’t last. Classic pressure tactics, but wrapped in a layer of technological legitimacy that’s genuinely new.
Australia’s 3,100 Takedowns and a $74,690 Loss That Explains Everything
The problem isn’t confined to New York or even the United States. In Australia, regulators dismantled more than 3,100 fraudulent crypto platforms in 2026 alone. That number is staggering — and it probably represents a fraction of what’s actually operating at any given moment.
One Australian case got specific attention. A woman lost nearly $74,690 to an elaborate fake crypto investment scheme. The scam used counterfeit trading platforms and fabricated news articles to make the whole thing look credible. She wasn’t careless. She was deceived by a system built specifically to deceive careful people.
That case basically shows the full playbook. Fake platforms. Fake press coverage. Fake support staff. Small early wins to lower your guard. Then a big ask, followed by demands for additional fees to “release” your funds — a tactic New York officials are especially loud about. Don’t pay those fees. The money won’t come back. The fees are just another extraction.
New York’s alert is direct on this point: never pay additional fees to release funds. It’s one of the clearest signals that a scam is in its final stage, squeezing whatever’s left before the operator vanishes.
What New York Says to Do Right Now
The state’s guidance isn’t complicated, but it requires slowing down — which is exactly what scammers don’t want you to do. Verify who you’re dealing with before sending a dollar. Confirm investment details independently. If someone is pushing you to decide fast, that’s a red flag, not a reason to hurry.
Warning signs the state lists: guaranteed returns with little or no risk, unsolicited offers out of nowhere, high-pressure sales tactics, and projects that can’t produce proper documentation. Any one of those should give pause. All four showing up together? Walk away.
If you think you’ve been hit, New York says report it — to the FTC, the FBI, the SEC, or the New York Attorney General’s office. The collaboration between those agencies and state-level officials is probably the most realistic path to tracking these operations down, since many run across multiple countries and jurisdictions.
Scammers are also building out fake ecosystems around non-existent crypto projects. That means fabricated whitepapers, invented founding teams, fake partnership announcements, the works. Consumers need to look past the surface and ask hard questions about where money actually goes — not where a slick platform claims it goes.
The FBI logged $20.877 billion in internet-crime losses in 2025. Crypto’s $11.37 billion share of that isn’t a rounding error.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did investment scam losses increase in 2025?
The FTC tracked over $8 billion in investment scam losses in 2025, a 38% increase from the prior year, with the median reported loss sitting at $10,560 per victim.
What role did AI play in crypto scams flagged by New York officials?
Per New York Attorney General Letitia James and Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley, scammers used AI to clone voices, fabricate videos, create deepfake celebrity endorsements, and build realistic-looking fake trading platforms.
How big were cryptocurrency fraud losses tracked by the FBI in 2025?
The FBI recorded $11.37 billion in cryptocurrency-related complaint losses as part of $20.877 billion in total internet-crime losses in 2025.
Why It Matters
The alarming rise in AI-powered crypto fraud highlights the growing vulnerabilities within the digital asset market, particularly as more consumers engage with cryptocurrencies without adequate protection. This surge in scams not only erodes consumer trust but also poses significant regulatory challenges, potentially prompting stricter oversight from states and federal agencies. As the crypto landscape continues to evolve, the industry must address these security concerns to foster a safer environment for investors and mitigate the risk of further financial losses.
