Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis reports in its 2026 Crypto Crime Report that crypto scams and fraud generated at least $14 billion in on-chain losses in 2025 — up from a revised $12 billion in 2024 — with the figure potentially exceeding $17 billion as additional illicit wallet addresses are identified. The surge was primarily driven by the explosive growth of AI-enabled impersonation scams.
Impersonation scams posted 1,400% year-over-year growth, while AI-enabled scams proved 4.5 times more profitable than traditional methods, generating an average of $3.2 million per operation. The average scam payment rose from $782 to $2,764, a 253% increase. Criminals deploy face-swap software, deepfake technology, and large language models sold by Chinese vendors through Telegram channels, enabling the mass production of fake support agents, government officials, and trusted insiders. Chainalysis Head of Research Eric Jardine noted that over 70% of AI-enabled scams fall within the top 50th percentile of transfer volume, scaling faster and attracting more money per transfer. One of the most expansive phishing operations targeted U.S. residents with fraudulent E-ZPass toll alerts — Chainalysis traced the campaign to a Chinese group known as Darcula or the Smishing Triad, which sent as many as 330,000 texts daily while the phishing infrastructure cost less than $500 to set up.
Chainalysis found that scammers are increasingly turning to decentralised finance tools — DEXs, DeFi bridges, and protocols — rather than centralised exchanges, while scam compounds in Southeast Asia, particularly Myanmar and Cambodia, built on human trafficking and forced labour, continue to serve as the industrialised hubs of pig butchering operations.
Sources:
- https://decrypt.co/354624/ai-impersonation-drove-crypto-scam-losses-record-17-billion-2025-chainalysis
- https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/01/14/chainalysis-report-reveals-impersonation-and-ai-crypto-scams-surpass-cyberattacks
- https://www.pymnts.com/fraud-attack/2026/chainalysis-says-ai-tools-helped-drive-crypto-scam-losses-to-14-billion-in-2025/
