Latest Cryptocurrency Frauds Caught in 2025

In the world of crypto, shady characters have been pulling scams since the era of silk roads and pirate ships. Moving into the digital age, they've only gotten more sophisticated… and more lucrative. Here's a lowdown on the biggest crypto scams of the past two decades, with a pinch ofesprit de corps aimed at helping you avoid becoming their next victim.

The Scam of the Century: Impersonating Legit

One of the most successful tactics in the scammer's playbook is impersonating well-known companies. They'll set up fake exchanges, wallets, and projects that look legitimate, often going so far as to use logos and copywriting plagiarized from the real deal. The bad actors will then convince unsuspecting crypto enthusiasts to trust them with their hard-earned cash. Once they've got their hands on the green, it's adios! Your money will be gone for good.

The vast crypto space has seen an abundance of fraudulent exchanges, fake wallets, and new coins, each amounting to nothing more than a waking nightmare for the suckers who bought in. Some of these cons even try to resemble established companies, while others just manage to look professional enough to dupe new users into trusting them.

Another common scam in this category is the "Free Giveaways" on Twitter. These are often impersonating bigwigs like major developers or exchanges, promising to give out massive payouts to those who "register." Simply put, nobody gives away free money, especially not in the world of crypto.

The Great Crypto Pyramid: Schemes Gone Wild

Oh, the delights of pyramid schemes! You join, you fork over some cash, you're promised extraordinary returns. The early investors get their cash back by bringing in newer investors. Sooner or later, new investors will dry up, and you're left high and dry, holding the bag.

One of the most infamous examples of this is BitConnect, a Ponzi scheme worth billions that took investors' money in exchange for useless coins. Though it's defunct, pyramid schemes like this still exist in the crypto world. The moral of the story: do your homework and be highly suspicious of anything boasting unusually high returns.

Traditional Scams in Crypto clothing

Surprise, surprise! Scams in the crypto world are not much different from the scams dating back to the stone age. They come in many forms, often in the form of phone calls, emails, or texts, offering rewards, threatening legal action, or blackmail. The claims are usually falsehoods designed to get you to part with your cryptocurrency.

One offshoot of this type of scam happens mostly through text and email. Known as phishing, the message will appear to be from a legitimate source and lead you to click a link that installs malicious software on your device. This brings us to our next major category, malware.

Digital Mayhem: The Malware Edition

Malware is software designed to steal money or information from your device. It can take many forms, from simple keyloggers that record everything you type to ransomware, which encrypts your entire device and refuses to unlock it unless you pay up in crypto.

To prevent falling victim to these digital muggers, always be skeptical of links and firewalls. It also wouldn't hurt to maintain a healthy separation between your sensitive crypto holdings and your everyday browsing.

Pump and Dump: A Crypto Con Game

This scam involves a small group creating hype around a small-cap coin. They'll buy some for themselves initially, then coordinate a social media campaign to create buzz for the project. This draws new investors, causing the price to skyrocket. As panic sets in, the initial group sells and cashes out, leaving the rest holding a worthless bag of coins.

The best way to avoid being caught in a pump-and-dump scheme is to never panic, buy into any position, and always do your due diligence.

Rug Pull: A Short Ride to Nowhere

The term "rug pull" refers to a situation in which a cryptocurrency project's creators abruptly abandon the project, taking the invested funds with them. This type of scam can result in significant losses for investors. In 2021, such scams led to an estimated $2.8 billion in losses according to Chainalysis.

Pig-Butchering: A Dish Best Served with Emotional Manipulation

Pig-butchering is a specific type of crypto scam that differs from traditional scams in its approach and execution. The scammers will build a relationship with their victims, often using dating platforms, social media, or even professional networking sites. Once they've gained the victim's trust, they'll introduce an investment opportunity and try to scam the victim out of their crypto. This type of scam relies on personal relationships and emotional manipulation.

Stay sharp, crypto Hobos! Be aware of the warning signs, follow these guidelines, and you'll have a much better chance of avoiding the crypto scams haunting the digital wild west.

In the digital realm of crypto, scam artists have been impersonating genuine companies, setting up fake exchanges, wallets, and projects that appear legitimate, often using stolen logos and copywriting from the original sources.
These scammers dupe unsuspecting crypto enthusiasts into trusting them with their hard-earned money, only for it to vanish without a trace.
Pyramid schemes, a common scam in the crypto world, promise extraordinary returns, where early investors pay in and newer investors are brought in, leaving the last investors with nothing.
One example of such schemes is BitConnect, a Ponzi scheme worth billions that swindled investors' money in exchange for worthless coins.
Scams in the crypto world mirror those from the past, manifesting as phishing emails, texts, or phone calls, luring victims with false promises, threats, or blackmail to steal their cryptocurrency.
Malware, malicious software, can take many forms, from keyloggers to ransomware, encrypting devices and demanding payment in crypto for unlocking them.
Pump-and-dump scams involve creating hype around a small-cap coin, causing its price to skyrocket before its creators sell and abandon the project, leaving investors with worthless coins.
Rug pull scams occur when crypto project creators suddenly abandon the project, taking the invested funds with them, resulting in substantial losses for investors. Pig-butchering is a specific type of crypto scam that relies on emotional manipulation and building relationships with victims in order to swindle them out of their cryptocurrency.