2025 Blockchain Scams,
Fraud, and Bad Actor Threats

One of the most pervasive threats in 2025 comes from organized crypto investment scam networks that prey on victims globally. Often dubbed "pig butchering" scams, these schemes involve fraudsters cultivating trust (via social media, dating apps, etc.) and then enticing victims into fake crypto investments or trading platforms – until the "pig" is metaphorically fattened and eventually slaughtered (all funds stolen).

The scale of these operations is staggering and growing. The US government estimates that Americans lost at least $10.6 billion to online investment scams run from Southeast Asia in 2024. This reflects a sharp rise in activity by criminal syndicates in places like Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, where scam call-center compounds have proliferated.

Record Seizures and Enforcement

Law enforcement is aggressively pursuing the funds tied to these scams. In June 2025, the U.S. Justice Department filed a civil forfeiture complaint to seize over $225.3 million in cryptocurrency linked to numerous investment fraud victims. According to officials, this represents the largest crypto seizure in Secret Service history and is part of a sweeping effort to claw back stolen money from foreign scam rings.

On the nation-state front, North Korea remains the most prolific bad actor in the cryptocurrency realm. Pyongyang-backed hacking units (most infamously the Lazarus Group) have pivoted from traditional bank heists to crypto heists, stealing digital assets at a scale that threatens global financial security.

Laundering Tactics and Evasion

North Korean crypto hackers are extremely adept at laundering their loot to circumvent global sanctions. TRM Labs and government agencies have observed that DPRK-linked laundromats are using an ever-diversifying web of blockchain services and bridges to obfuscate stolen funds. In 2023–2024, Lazarus began moving a lot of stolen crypto through decentralized cross-chain bridges and into certain ecosystems (notably the TRON network), which allow swapping assets with minimal oversight.

Beyond scams and state actors, the ransomware epidemic continues to plague businesses and critical infrastructure, with cryptocurrency as the preferred payment medium. Dozens of cybercrime gangs – many operating from Russia and Eastern Europe – relentlessly target Western companies, encrypting data and extorting victims for Bitcoin or Monero.

2024 saw something of a paradox: ransomware attackers collected less money overall than the prior year (roughly $813 million, down 35% from 2023), yet the threat itself did not diminish so much as evolve. The downturn in payments is partly because more victims refused to pay or improved their backups.

However, the severity of attacks grew – the criminals shifted to "quality over quantity," hitting fewer targets but demanding larger ransoms from big corporations (a tactic known as "big game hunting"). In 2024, the largest ransom ever recorded was paid: approximately $75 million in cryptocurrency to a group dubbed Dark Angels.

Human-focused attack techniques underlie a vast portion of blockchain-related crime in 2025. Whether it's a scam victim persuaded to invest in a fake crypto platform, an exchange employee duped into running malware, or a CEO's email account hijacked via phishing – social engineering is the common denominator.

Deepfakes, AI, and New Deceptions

In 2025, adversaries are increasingly wielding Artificial Intelligence as a force multiplier for scams and fraud. Advanced language models (LLMs) and AI-generated media are enabling more convincing, personalized con artistry at scale. Notably, criminals have been caught using AI deepfakes of voices and videos to impersonate trusted people.