Cryptocurrency scammers stole an all-time high of $17 billion last year, crypto analytics firm Chainalysis estimated in a Tuesday report. The figure is a more than 21% increase from the $14 billion stolen in 2024.

Scams are becoming more sophisticated as impersonations of legitimate organizations grow more popular and use of artificial intelligence improves the effectiveness of scams.

Impersonation scams, such as an actor posing as a support representative for the largest US-based exchange Coinbase, have climbed over 1,400% compared to 2024 with the average payment amount made in this cluster jumping more than 600%. 

Meanwhile, scams using deepfake technology and artificial intelligence not only have increased transaction volume suggesting broader victim reach, but also generated higher returns for the scammers. 

“Our analysis reveals that, on average, scams with on-chain links to AI vendors extract $3.2 million per operation compared to $719,000 for those without an on-chain link — 4.5 times more revenue per scam,” the Chainalysis report stated. “We are moving toward a future in which virtually all scams will incorporate AI into their operations to some degree.”