AI deepfakes fuel $333 million crypto ATM fraud surge in US in 2025
Crypto ATM fraud losses surged to $333 million in the US in 2025 as criminal networks deployed AI-generated deepfakes and social engineering to target victims, with over 85% of losses affecting adults aged 60 and over. The FBI recorded a 33% increase in complaints, prompting legislative responses including the proposed Crypto ATM Fraud Prevention Act.
What happened
Crypto ATM fraud losses in the US reached $333 million in the first 11 months of 2025, with the FBI recording over 12,000 complaintsβa 33% year-over-year increase. Losses have doubled annually since 2022, rising from $78 million in 2022 to $114 million in 2023 and approximately $250 million in 2024.
Criminal organizations have shifted from isolated scammers to transnational networks using corporate-style divisions of labour. AI-enabled scams proved 4.5 times more profitable than traditional methods, with criminals deploying real-time deepfake audio and video alongside data scraped from social media to imitate trusted contacts and execute government impersonation, romance, and tech support fraud schemes.
Reported impact
Adults aged 60 and over accounted for more than 85% of reported losses, with a median victim age of 71. Older adults are disproportionately vulnerable due to liquid savings, lower crypto literacy, and social isolation.
An FBI spokesperson stated the increase has been steady and shows no sign of slowing. Crypto ATMs are described as the 'lowest-friction extraction channel available to scammers' due to their ability to convert cash to crypto in under five minutes with minimal identity verification.
Index analysis
CertiK identified an 'attribution gap' because blockchain records only the operator-to-destination transfer, not the victim's identity, making forensic tracing extremely difficult without court orders for operator records. The five primary fraud tactics are government impersonation, tech support fraud, romance scams ('pig butchering'), grandparent scams, and fake fraud recovery offers.
Governance controls
Senator Dick Durbin introduced the Crypto ATM Fraud Prevention Act in February 2025, which would require operators to register with the Treasury Department, display clear fraud warnings, provide live customer support during business hours, and issue receipts with transaction details. Seventeen states have passed comprehensive protective legislation addressing crypto ATM fraud.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.