Crypto and social media scams top NASAA’s 2025 investor risk list

The North American Securities Administration Association sounded the alarm on crypto and social media scams, warning that fraudsters accelerate their tactics to attract without distrust.

In a March 6 statementNASAA has reported cryptocurrencies and scams on social networks as a main threat to retail investors in 2025, based on a state and provincial regulators in the United States and Canada.

According to the survey, the crooks are increasingly targeting investors on social media platforms. Almost 32% of probable scams are from platforms like Facebook and X, while 31% were linked to messaging services such as Telegram and Whatsapp.

Short video content has also become a major tool for fraudsters, NASAA noting that platforms like Tiktok and Instagram Reels represented 19% of the scams reported. Meanwhile, longer video formats, such as YouTube and Vimeo, represented 14% of the total.

NASAA has warned that crooks use these platforms to create “smooth images and videos” which make fraudulent investments legitimate.

The association has also reported an increase in scams designed to “play on emotions”, “increasingly rich” locations for romance and affinity fraud, which are commonly known as pig butchers.

“The authors of romantic relationships and scams contact victims – often apparently at random – and develop relationships before soliciting increasingly investments. After having emptied to emptying the victim’s bank accounts, the promoter simply disappears with money ”- the North American association of the administrators of securities securities

Leslie Van Buskirk, president of NASAA and the administrator of the Securities Wisconsin, reminded investors “investigate before investing” and to monitor the opportunities that seem “too beautiful to be true”.

Meanwhile, the co -chair of the NASAA Application Section Committee, Amanda Senn, advised the public to examine the registration status of an entity before committing.

The use of AI in scams should increase

The association also expressed its concern about the use of artificial intelligence in these scams. The survey revealed that almost 39% of regulators expect fraudsters to use content generated by AI, including graphics and videos of professional appearance, to establish false credibility.

Additional 22% anticipate an increase in Enfake scamsWhere criminals pretend to be celebrities or trusted personalities to mislead investors.

In recent years, Deepfake crooks have masked known faces as Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook To promote false investment programs from Crypto.

Search by crypto exchange bitget led last year In June, Deepfake found for 245% in 2024.

Cryptographic scams have so far caused damages of several billion dollars to cryptographic industry. Last month, Blockchain Firan Company Chain Analysis highlighted A 210% increase in deposits for butcher’s scams in 2024.

According to a separate report From the Web 3 Cyvvers security company, more than $ 3.6 billion was lost against pig’s butcher’s scams.