Scam Prevention Experts: How Much AI Crypto Scams Can Cost You & 4 Ways To Avoid Them
Though we’ve known for years that it was coming, most of us didn’t anticipate that artificial intelligence (AI) would arrive with such a world-altering bang, or that it would change our lives so profoundly and so quickly. Certainly, we didn’t anticipate how many doors it would open to scammers targeting our money.
Cryptocurrency is proving to be particularly vulnerable, too.
According to the 2025 Internet Crime Report by the FBI, a total of 181,565 cryptocurrency and AI-related complaints were filed in 2025. These complaints amounted to more than $11 billion in losses. Depending on how much you have in crypto and how it is hacked, you could lose everything. And anyone with a smart device is at risk.
Read More: 3 Ways To Identify Financial Scams, According to Tori Dunlap
Don't Wait: Start Growing Your Net Worth With Smarter Tracking
Here, scam prevention experts share four ways to avoid falling prey to an AI crypto scam.
1. Use Whitelists in Your Crypto Flows
Use a whitelist (also called an allowlist) in your cryptocurrency flow. A whitelist is a pre-approved list of wallet addresses or users that you give access to take any action with your crypto. Anyone not on the list is automatically blocked from making a move.
“A lot of platforms let you save a wallet address with a name for someone you interact with regularly,” said Maika Isogawa, founder and CEO of Webacy. “That's one way to avoid address poisoning. It's not a perfect solution since addresses change so frequently in crypto, but it helps.”
2. Don’t Talk to Strangers in Private Chats or Trading Apps
Scamsters you meet online, on an app or through a text will often try to lure you onto another platform or push you to download their own software. Their goal here is to make your finances more vulnerable to an attack. Don’t take the bait.
“Do not let a stranger steer you into a private chat and a trading app,” said Jose Lejin, senior member at IEEE. “If the pitch arrived by text, a dating app or a social comment, leave it there. Do not move to WhatsApp or Telegram and do not install their platform. Real investments do not require a secret chat. This matters because the private app is where the fake profit screen and the pressure live.”
3. Slow Down and Remove the Feeling of Urgency
Scammers — including those posing as financial institutions — often weaken their target by working them up into a sense of urgency or panic. Don’t fall prey to an “act now” push to do anything.
“Build in a 24-hour pause before any crypto transfer and talk it through with someone you trust first,” said Nicola Harding, criminologist and co-founder and chief scientific officer of Tuteliq. “Urgency is the scammer's most important tool, because it switches off careful thinking. A pause and a second opinion break the spell.”
4. Don’t Pay for Anything Via a Sponsored Ad
Loving a product or service you see in a sponsored ad online or on an app? Don’t click on the ad to do so. Scammers can manipulate marketing entry points to steal your financial information.
“Skip sponsored ads on the way to any wallet-connected service and use a bookmark or type the known domain,” said Shlomi Beer, co-founder and CEO of ImpersonAlly.
AI Crypto Scams Will Get More Sophisticated and More Prevalent
We all need to be vigilant and take action to protect ourselves from AI fraudsters now, because tech-savvy thieves — who all already doing epic damage — are only going to get smarter and craftier.
“As autonomous AI agents become more sophisticated, they won't just generate text; they will dynamically navigate live voice calls, adapt to a victim's emotional state in real-time and automatically bypass traditional security checks without a human scammer ever needing to be in the loop,” said Catherine Karow, CEO and tech co-founder at ZoraSafe. “Until telecom infrastructure and consumer defense tools universally integrate AI to intercept these attacks before they reach the user's screen, the financial bleed will accelerate.”
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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