5 Crypto Scams to Watch for in 2025

Crypto is booming—and so are scams. Here are the five schemes targeting beginners in 2025, how they work, the red flags to spot, and the exact steps to protect your coins with confidence.

SAFETY & SECURITY

8/9/2025

Intro: Safety is a strategy

As crypto adoption grows, so do the schemes trying to separate you from your coins. The good news? Most scams follow predictable patterns. Learn the patterns, set safer habits, and you’ll invest with calm, steady confidence.

1) Deepfake Imposters & “Support” Look-Alikes

How it works: Scammers use AI voice/video to impersonate founders, influencers, or support teams. They’ll DM you about a “security issue,” ask you to share your screen, or push you to “verify” seed phrases or sign transactions.
Red flags: Urgency, requests for your seed phrase, screen-share demands, links from DMs.
Protect yourself:

No legit support will ask for your seed phrase—ever.
Never screen-share your wallet.
Verify accounts via official sites; ignore links sent in DMs.

2) Airdrop & “Points” Claim Drainers

How it works: Fake airdrop/points pages prompt you to connect your wallet and sign “harmless” approvals that actually let a drainer move your tokens or NFTs.
Red flags: New or misspelled domains, pressure to hurry, too-good rewards, repeated signature prompts you don’t understand.
Protect yourself:

Treat every signature like a bank contract. If you don’t understand it, don’t sign it.
Use a view-only wallet for browsing dApps; fund a separate wallet only when needed.
Regularly review and revoke token approvals with a reputable “approval checker” tool.

3) Address Poisoning & ENS Look-Alikes

How it works: Scammers seed your transaction history with a look-alike address (or ENS name) so you copy/paste the wrong one later.
Red flags: Addresses that look right at the start and end but differ in the middle; ENS names with subtle typos.
Protect yourself:

Use an address book: save known addresses once, then reuse from contacts—not from history.
Send a tiny test transaction before large transfers.
Double-check the middle characters of addresses, not just the first/last four.

4) “Pig-Butchering” Romance & Investment Coaching

How it works: A friendly connection (often on SMS/WhatsApp/Telegram) builds trust, then guides you to a fake trading site or “liquidity mining” scheme. You see fake profits and are pushed to deposit more—until withdrawals are “temporarily” blocked.
Red flags: New “friend” with fast intimacy, guaranteed returns, insistence on moving chats off-platform, custom app/site no one’s heard of.
Protect yourself:

Don’t invest through strangers or private platforms you can’t independently verify.
Be wary of “guaranteed” or “risk-free” language.
Keep relationships and investments separate; sleep on big decisions.

5) Fake Apps, Search Ads & QR Phishing

How it works: Malicious look-alike apps or sponsored search results mimic real wallets/exchanges. QR codes or download links route you to malware or seed-stealers.
Red flags: App reviews that mention “lost funds,” developers with no history, URLs that are close but not exact, QR codes from unknown sources.
Protect yourself:

Install apps from official links only, starting on the brand’s verified website.
Type URLs manually or use your own bookmarks; avoid search-ad links.
Keep devices updated; use a password manager and hardware-based 2FA where possible.

Quick Safety Checklist (save this)

Enable 2FA on exchanges and email.
Use unique, strong passwords
(stored in a password manager).
Separate browse wallet (low funds) from
vault wallet (long-term storage).
Revoke token approvals monthly or after
testing new dApps.
Never share seed phrases. Store them offline,
not in screenshots or notes apps.

If something feels off (act fast)

Disconnect your wallet from the suspicious site.
Revoke approvals via a trusted approval checker.
Move funds to a fresh wallet (new seed) if you signed anything you don’t understand.
Report fake accounts and domains; warn your community.
For exchange/account breaches, change passwords, rotate 2FA, and contact support immediately.

Closing: Confidence beats fear

Scammers rely on hurry and confusion. Your power move is slowing down, verifying, and sticking to your process. With a few strong habits, you can enjoy the upside of crypto without the chaos.