Crypto Frauds In 2025 And How Investors Can Protect Themselves

As 2025 draws to a close, the cryptocurrency ecosystem has experienced a year marked by both increasing adoption and ongoing security challenges. While more people invested in digital assets and cryptocurrencies gained mainstream attention, scams and hacks remained a serious concern.

This year, incidents ranged from big exchange breaches to targeted frauds that show crypto scam keeps evolving alongside the market.

Global Crypto Thefts Crossed Billions in 2025

The cryptocurrency industry witnessed over $3.4 billion in theft from January through early December 2025, according to a report by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

Most of the billions of dollars stolen in 2025 came from just a few large hacks, rather than from many smaller incidents. Funds stolen in the largest attacks were reportedly 1,000 times larger than those taken in a typical incident, surpassing even the peak levels seen during the 2021 bull market. Chainalysis notes that the top three hacks in 2025 alone made up nearly 69 per cent of total service losses, illustrating how individual events can heavily influence yearly totals.

North Korea-linked hackers were behind a major share of crypto thefts in 2025, stealing at least USD 2.02 billion, up 51 per cent from 2024, and bringing their cumulative estimated total to USD 6.75 billion. These attacks accounted for a record 76 per cent of all service compromises, underscoring the scale of state-linked crypto crime.

In 2025, individual wallet compromises rose to 158,000 incidents, impacting around 80,000 unique victims, even though the total value stolen dropped to $713 million compared to 2024.

Crypto Scams and Security Breaches in India

India has also gone through a tough year in the crypto space with several incidents occurring over the year. Some of the ones are highlighted below.

CoinDCX, a cryptocurrency exchange, faced a cyberattack in July on an internal account used for liquidity provisioning, resulting in a loss of approximately Rs 380 crore. While the co-founders of Coindcx, Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal, took to social media claiming that customer funds remained unaffected, assets in cold wallets were safe, and operations continued normally.

Recently, the Enforcement Directorate conducted coordinated searches at eight locations in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab in connection with a fake cryptocurrency-based Ponzi and Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) scam that allegedly defrauded investors of around Rs 2,300 crore.

Individual investors also fell victim to crypto scams. A software professional from Mancherial was defrauded of nearly Rs 87.5 lakh from a fake cryptocurrency scheme on a matrimonial platform. The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau recovered 2,703 USDT (around Rs 2.38 lakh).

India also faced many scams this year, such as phishing scams, which trick investors into revealing private keys or login credentials. Rug pulls occur when developers abandon a project after collecting funds, and Ponzi schemes promise high returns but pay old investors with new investors' money.

Looking Ahead: Key Measures for Investor Safety in 2026

This year, the crypto ecosystem faces challenges. Experts share their perspectives on what investors should watch for in 2026 and how they can reduce their exposure to crypto scams.

Edul Patel, CEO of Mudrex, advises using regulated platforms with strong security standards and staying cautious of unsolicited tips, fake endorsements, and suspicious links.

He added, “While looking ahead to 2026, investors should stay cautious as crypto and Web3 evolve. Scams may become more subtle with AI-driven phishing, deepfakes and fake applications. Focusing on verified projects and long-term fundamentals can go a long way in keeping wallets safe.”

Sumit Gupta, Co-founder at CoinDCX, advised, “Phishing and impersonation remain the most common threats. Fake websites, emails, and social media profiles are becoming harder to distinguish from legitimate ones.”

He added that investors need to be vigilant, double-check URLs, and avoid unsolicited links. Keeping devices updated, by enabling two-factor authentication, and reporting suspicious activity are basic but essential habits that help protect both investors and the wider ecosystem.