People are getting tricked by fake videos and pictures on the internet, called deepfakes, and they’re losing their digital money or cryptocurrency because of it. A company called Bitget has reported that in 2024, people might lose more than $25 billion because of these tricks, which is more than double the money lost last year.

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• People may lose more than $25 billion in 2024 because of tricks using fake videos and pictures in digital money, twice the amount lost last year.
• In the next two years, these fake video tricks could be part of more than 70% of all crimes involving digital money. The main trick is pretending to be famous people to promote fake money-making methods.
• Even though computers and AI (Artificial Intelligence) have brought many good changes, they’re also being used for bad things. This shows how important it is to find and stop these bad things early.

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Crypto Losses Due to Deepfake Scams Predicted to Reach $25B in 2024

A report by Bitget, shared on June 27th, says that these scams have increased by 245% worldwide in 2024. Countries where it’s happening the most include China, Germany, Ukraine, the United States, Vietnam, and the United Kingdom. These countries had the most of these scams in the first three months of 2024.

People who work with cryptocurrency are losing the most money from these scams. They lost 217% more money in the first three months of 2024 compared to the same time in 2023, or over $6.3 billion. Bitget thinks this could get even worse, with people potentially losing up to $10 billion every three months by 2025.

Bitget also thinks these deepfake scams might account for over 70% of all cryptocurrency-related crimes in the next two years.

The people who do these scams usually use videos and pictures of famous people to trick others into believing them. For example, more than 35 YouTube channels recently showed a video of a Space X launch. The scammers used a computer to make a voice like Elon Musk, a famous businessman. These scammers told people watching to send them Bitcoin or Ethereum, which are types of cryptocurrency, and promised to send back double the money.

Deepfake technology has also been used to pretend to be bosses during online meetings. This can lead to significant business deals, which affect both companies and the world of cryptocurrency.

While deepfakes are the most common way people use computers to commit crimes related to cryptocurrency, there are more ways. A company called Elliptic reported that more crimes are being committed with the help of computers. These crimes include deepfake scams, attacks supported by countries, and other complicated illegal activities.

Even though computers and artificial intelligence (AI) have helped many different areas, bad people are also using them to commit crimes. People on the dark web, a secret part of the internet, are using computers to commit crimes related to cryptocurrency. This includes guessing the secret words of digital wallets, automating scams like phishing, and spreading harmful software.

Because of this, Elliptic is asking people to be more aware and stop these illegal activities early on. This will ensure that computers and AI can continue to help us and reduce the risks of these scams.

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