2025 Tech Scams: Deepfakes, BEC, Crypto Cons—Protect Your Wallet

Editor’s note on data freshness: This article is designed to be updated as new figures are released. Where specific, recent statistics (last 3–6 months) are needed, we have clearly marked update prompts. All current citations are from authoritative sources (FBI, FTC, CISA, major security firms) verified up to late 2024.

Online fraud has industrialized. From convincing AI deepfake video calls to business email compromise (BEC) that quietly reroutes six-figure payments, attackers are blending automation, social engineering, and stolen data at scale. While 2023 reports already showed record losses—FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) tallied $12.5B in reported victim losses across 880,418 complaints, with BEC and investment fraud leading the pack—criminals have only gotten faster and more sophisticated since. [Update with latest FBI IC3 2024 or 2025 headline totals when released].

AI Deepfake Scams (Celebrity/Executive Impersonation and Fake Video Calls)

Recent Cases and Financial Impact

– A widely reported 2024 case in Hong Kong saw a finance worker transfer roughly $25 million after joining a video meeting where every participant was a deepfake of known colleagues. [BBC; Update with a 2025 deepfake case if available]
– Law enforcement has warned that AI voice cloning and video spoofs are increasingly used to authorize urgent payments and to escalate help-desk requests that lead to account takeovers. [FBI PSA/CISA advisories]

Relevant baseline statistics:
– FBI IC3 (2023): Total reported losses of $12.5B; BEC and investment fraud were top loss categories. [IC3 2023]
– Verizon DBIR (2024): Nearly 70% of breaches involve the human element (social engineering, errors, misuse). [DBIR 2024]
[Update with last 6-month figures on deepfake-enabled fraud and any measured rise in audio/video impersonation scams by FBI/FTC or reputable security vendors]

How This Scam Works

• Recon: Attackers harvest executive bios, headshots, public talks, and voice samples from social media, webinars, earnings calls, and press interviews.
• Infiltration: They create synthetic voice/video and spoof or compromise email/chat accounts to schedule a “quick urgent call.”
• Pressure: On the call, a fake executive or vendor demands immediate payment, changes to banking details, or MFA reset approvals.
• Execution: Funds are wired to money mules/crypto exchanges, or attackers gain help-desk approved access to high-value accounts.

Warning Signs

• “Executive” refuses camera off/on toggles or keeps video slightly blurred; lighting and lip-sync feel subtly off.
• Urgent requests to bypass payment workflows or to add a new beneficiary “today.”
• Unusual meeting setup (new conferencing link, different organizer), or odd phrasing inconsistent with the real executive.

Protection Strategies

• Implement out-of-band verification: Any request to change payment details or rush a transfer must be verified by a second known channel (phone number on file, not the one provided in the email/chat).
• Adopt call-back codes: Executives and finance teams share a rotating code for real-time verification during urgent calls.
• Lock down executive media: Reduce publicly posted raw audio/video; monitor for lookalike domains and unauthorized social accounts.
• Train finance/help-desk staff to challenge unusual requests—even from “leadership”—and to escalate without fear.

Business Email Compromise (CEO/Vendor Impersonation)

Recent Cases and Financial Impact

– FBI IC3 (2023): BEC reported losses exceeded $2.9B, with median wire amounts commonly in the tens of thousands and single incidents often reaching six- and seven-figures. [IC3 2023]
– Vendor Email Compromise (VEC) is a growing BEC subtype where legitimate vendor threads and invoices are hijacked to silently change remittance details. [FBI/CISA]

[Update: Insert last 6-month BEC case studies—e.g., school districts, municipalities, or mid-market manufacturers—with specific dollar losses and recovery outcomes from FBI/DOJ press releases]

How This Scam Works

• Credential or mailbox compromise (phishing, MFA fatigue, or OAuth token abuse).
• Thread hijacking: Attackers lurk, learn billing cycles, then send a perfectly timed “updated banking details” note.
• Money mule layering: Funds move across multiple accounts or into crypto to evade clawbacks.

Warning Signs

• Banking change requests arriving just before a payment due date.
• Subtle domain changes (examp1e.com vs example.com) or display-name spoofing.
• Invoices with slightly altered logos, formatting, or remit-to details.

Protection Strategies

• Mandatory call-back verification for all banking changes using a known, previously verified number.
• Enforce MFA for email and accounting systems; monitor for suspicious OAuth grants.
• Implement payment change workflows in ERP/AP systems that require dual approval.
• Use DMARC with quarantine/reject, and enable mailbox auditing and geo-velocity alerts.
• Establish a 24–48 hour payment hold window for first-time or changed beneficiaries.

Tech Support Fraud (Fake Microsoft/Apple Calls, Pop-ups, Remote Access)

Recent Cases and Financial Impact

– FBI IC3 (2023): Tech support fraud reported losses approached $1B, disproportionately impacting older adults. [IC3 2023; Elder Fraud 2023]
– IC3 Elder Fraud (2023): Victims 60+ reported $3.4B in losses overall, with average losses exceeding $30,000; tech support scams were among the top categories. [IC3 Elder Fraud 2023]

[Update with any new DOJ takedowns/indictments of call-center rings and current-year loss figures from FBI/FTC]

How This Scam Works

• Browser pop-up claims “Your computer is infected—call Microsoft/Apple now.”
• Cold call or search ad leads to a fake support line; scammers request remote access via common tools.
• They “find” fake problems, sell bogus subscriptions, or stage refund scams that trick victims into sending large “corrections.”

Warning Signs

• Unsolicited calls claiming to be from Microsoft/Apple—these companies do not initiate such support calls.
• Pop-ups that lock the browser and demand immediate phone contact.
• Requests to pay via gift cards, crypto, or wire for “support fees” or “refund corrections.”

Protection Strategies

• Close the browser (Task Manager/Force Quit) and restart. Do not dial numbers shown on pop-ups.
• Use official support portals or phone numbers from the vendor’s website—not search ads.
• Disable unsolicited remote access; require signed vendor contracts and ticket numbers for any remote session.
• Banks/credit unions: Implement scam-intervention scripts and cooling-off periods for high-risk transfers from older account holders.

Cryptocurrency Investment Schemes and Draining Attacks

Recent Cases and Financial Impact

– FTC (2023): Consumers reported losses of nearly $10B across frauds; investment scams led losses and commonly involved crypto. [FTC Consumer Sentinel 2023]
– Chainalysis (2024): Crypto scam revenue and illicit flows fluctuate year to year, with investment scams and pig-butchering consistently among the largest categories. [Chainalysis 2024]

[Update with last 6-month data: current-year crypto scam revenue, top scam types, and average per-victim loss; include a recent pig-butchering indictment/DOJ seizure when available]

How This Scam Works

• Approach: Scammers befriend targets on social platforms or SMS (“wrong number” openers) and groom trust.
• Fake platform: Victims are funneled to realistic trading dashboards showing fabricated gains.
• Lock-in: Small withdrawal is allowed, then larger deposits are “held” until taxes/fees are paid—money is never returned.
• Drainers: Wallet-drainer kits harvest tokens via malicious approvals or seed-phrase theft after phishing or fake support chats.

Warning Signs

• Guaranteed high returns with zero risk; pressure to “act now” or keep it secret.
• Crypto “brokers” asking you to install remote desktop apps or share seed phrases.
• Web3 sites requesting unlimited token approvals; misleading domain names and fake audits.

Protection Strategies

• Never share seed phrases or private keys; store them offline in a hardware wallet.
• Use a separate low-balance wallet for new dApps; frequently revoke token approvals.
• Verify platforms through multiple sources (official app stores, community reputation, security audits).
• Enable exchange withdrawal allowlists and time-locked withdrawals.
• If scammed, preserve evidence and file reports with IC3, your exchange, and local authorities immediately to improve recovery odds.

Romance and Social Engineering (Including Pig-Butchering)

Recent Cases and Financial Impact

– FTC (2023): Romance scams accounted for over $1B in reported losses; median individual losses are high, especially for older adults. [FTC data]
– FBI Elder Fraud (2023): Elder losses topped $3.4B, with social engineering a key driver. [IC3 Elder Fraud 2023]

[Update with last 6-month enforcement actions against pig-butchering networks, plus average loss updates and victim counts from FBI/FTC or state AGs]

How This Scam Works

• Grooming: Weeks to months of daily contact build trust and emotional dependency.
• Opportunity: Scammer introduces an “exclusive” investment or crypto trading method.
• Extraction: Victim is led to a fake platform, shown “profits,” and pressured to deposit more; withdrawals are blocked.

Warning Signs

• New online contact quickly shifts conversations off-platform and avoids video calls or uses heavily filtered/looped clips.
• Talk of guaranteed returns or insider access; requests for secrecy.
• Inconsistent personal stories and evasiveness about in-person meetings.

Protection Strategies

• Use reverse image search on profile photos; insist on live, unfiltered video before escalating trust.
• Discuss large financial decisions with a trusted friend or advisor outside the relationship.
• If pressured to invest via unfamiliar platforms, stop and consult your bank or a licensed advisor first.

Phishing Evolution (AI-Generated Emails, Smishing, Vishing)

Recent Cases and Financial Impact

– Verizon DBIR (2024): The human element—phishing, pretexting, and errors—remains a key factor in most breaches. [DBIR 2024]
– Proofpoint (2024): Social engineering campaigns increasingly blend email, SMS, and voice with MFA fatigue and QR code lures. [Proofpoint State of the Phish 2024]

[Update with last 6-month phishing metrics: click rates, credential theft volumes, and MFA fatigue success rates from reputable vendor reports]

How This Scam Works

• AI-crafted emails mimic tone and structure of colleagues and vendors.
• SMS (smishing) pushes urgent delivery problems, payroll fixes, or 2FA reset links.
• Vishing calls reinforce emails, guiding victims to fake portals or harvesting one-time passcodes.

Warning Signs

• Mismatched sender domains, unusual urgency, or requests for confidential info.
• QR codes or shortened links leading to login pages; unexpected MFA prompts you didn’t initiate.
• New payment instructions or W-2/payroll changes via email or text.

Protection Strategies

• Adopt phishing-resistant MFA (FIDO2/WebAuthn security keys) for critical accounts.
• Use email authentication (SPF/DKIM/DMARC) and disable legacy protocols.
• Run continuous training with realistic simulations that include SMS and voice.
• Deploy URL rewriting/sandboxing and brand impersonation detection.

Audience-Specific Guidance

For General Consumers

• Never act on money requests from calls, texts, or emails without verifying via a known phone number or in-person.
• Use a password manager and enable MFA everywhere—prefer app-based or security keys over SMS codes.
• Freeze your credit with all three bureaus; unfreeze only when needed.
• Report scams to the FTC (ReportFraud.ftc.gov) and FBI IC3 (ic3.gov) immediately.

For Business Owners

• Create a written payment-change policy requiring out-of-band verification and dual approvals.
• Harden identity: phishing-resistant MFA, device posture checks, and conditional access.
• Segment finance systems; implement just-in-time admin and least privilege.
• Run quarterly BEC table-top exercises with finance, IT, and legal on incident response and clawback procedures.
• Consider crime/fidelity insurance and validate incident reporting pathways with your bank.

For Elderly Users and Caregivers

• Set a policy: No money or gift cards sent because of a phone call or pop-up—call a trusted family member first.
• Post a “Do Not Remote” note near the computer; only allow remote support from known providers with pre-scheduled appointments.
• Banks: Enable transaction alerts and daily withdrawal limits; caregivers can monitor with view-only access.

For Tech-Savvy Users

• Use hardware security keys for critical accounts; disable SMS MFA.
• Run EDR on endpoints, enable DNS filtering, and isolate browsers for high-risk activities.
• For crypto, maintain multiple wallets (hot/test/long-term cold), and revoke approvals monthly.
• Monitor for lookalike domains and set DMARC to quarantine/reject with reporting.

Industry Expert Insights

– Social engineering remains the shortest path to high-impact fraud. Even with strong technical controls, finance and help-desk workflows are being targeted with deepfakes and multi-channel pretexting.
– BEC and vendor compromise persist because they exploit trust in legitimate threads and standard business processes. Payment governance and out-of-band checks consistently block losses.
– Crypto grifts and drainer kits thrive on speed and finality of transfers; wallet hygiene (allowlists, time locks, hardware storage) is the best countermeasure.
– Expect attackers to automate personalization using AI. Organizations should likewise automate detection and verification—policy-backed call-backs, identity proofing for high-risk changes, and anomaly detection in payments.

Immediate Action Steps

• Set a team-wide rule now: No payment changes without a verified call-back to a number on file.
• Move key accounts to phishing-resistant MFA (security keys) within 30 days.
• Run a 15-minute BEC drill this week with finance/AP: simulate a vendor banking-change request.
• For families and seniors: Create a one-page “scam plan” with three contacts to call before any money moves.
• For crypto users: Rotate hot wallets and revoke token approvals today; store long-term funds on a hardware wallet.
• Report every incident (FTC/IC3). Rapid reporting improves bank clawback odds and helps law enforcement map networks.

Conclusion

Tech scams succeed because they target trust, not just technology. The fix is procedural as much as it is technical: out-of-band verification, clear payment governance, phishing-resistant MFA, and a culture that celebrates challenging unusual requests—no matter who appears to be asking. Update the stats in this guide as new FBI/FTC data drops, but don’t wait to act: the policies you implement today are what stand between a convincing deepfake or BEC email and a life-changing loss.