Deepfake Crypto Scams: How to Check a Video or Call

What is a deepfake crypto scam?

A deepfake is video, audio or an image made or altered by AI so a real person appears to say or do something they never did. In a crypto scam, the deepfake is the trust layer. The old parts are still there: a fake platform, a wallet address, a deadline. The fake face makes you skip the questions you'd normally ask.

The FBI now counts it. Its 2025 Internet Crime Report, released in April 2026, added a section on artificial intelligence for the first time. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 22,364 complaints that mentioned AI in 2025, with losses of nearly $893 million. Investment complaints with a reported AI link passed $632 million. The report says investment groups use "AI-generated videos and voices of celebrities, CEOs, or trusted figures" to sell fake opportunities, often through polished endorsements on social media or in video calls.

Those are only the cases where the victim knew AI was involved. The same report puts total investment scam losses above $8 billion, and the FBI reads the gap as a sign that many victims don't realize how much AI was part of what happened to them.

Whose face do scammers fake?

Mostly these five, each with its own setting and its own ask.

One version gets its own page. Fake livestreams where a famous face promises to double any crypto you send are a giveaway scam with an AI coat of paint, and our guide to deepfake crypto giveaway scams covers them. This guide is about AI video calls, cloned voices and one-to-one impersonation, because a fake person talking to you directly is much harder to walk away from.

Three real cases, and what each one teaches

The fake girlfriend on video. In October 2024, Hong Kong police arrested 27 people, 21 men and six women, in a raid on an industrial unit in Hung Hom. Police said the gang posed as attractive women, opened with wrong-number texts, used deepfakes to appear on video, and steered men in Taiwan, Singapore, India and elsewhere into a fake crypto platform built with help from overseas IT specialists. The lesson: a video call no longer proves a person is real. It's the same script as a pig butchering scam, with the one old weak point (the scammer who never shows their face) patched by software.

The fake boardroom. In early 2024 a finance worker at the engineering firm Arup in Hong Kong joined a video meeting with what looked like the company's chief financial officer and several colleagues. CNN reported that he had doubted the first email, but the people on the call looked and sounded like coworkers he knew. He sent HK$200 million, about $25.6 million, in 15 transfers. Arup confirmed it was the victim in May 2024. It wasn't crypto, but the lesson carries: a group call can be faked as easily as one face.

The fake FBI. In a July 2026 public service announcement, the FBI warned that scammers were posting AI-generated videos of a senior FBI leader on social media, urging people to file complaints on spoofed versions of the IC3 website. The fake sites ask for crypto addresses and payment details. The FBI says the real site is ic3.gov and that IC3 has no social media presence. The lesson: deepfakes now chase people who have already lost money.

How to check a video or a call

The FBI's December 2024 warning on generative AI fraud says criminals generate video for real-time chats with alleged company executives, law enforcement and other authority figures. Its advice, and the CFTC's, comes down to a short routine.

1. Judge the ask, not the face. Is someone asking for crypto, a gift card, a wire, a login code or your recovery phrase? Are they asking you to keep it quiet? The CFTC's March 2025 advisory on generative AI fraud puts the core rule plainly: never send crypto or other assets to people you've only met online or over the phone.
2. Hang up and call back yourself. Use a number you already had: the one saved in your phone, on the back of your bank card, or on the company's own website, typed in by hand. The FTC's alert on AI voice cloning gives the same advice for family calls: don't trust the voice, call the person on a number you know is theirs, and if you can't reach them, try another relative or a friend.
3. Agree a code word with your family now. The FBI recommends a secret word or phrase that only your family knows. Pick something that isn't on social media. A cloned voice can copy how your daughter sounds. It can't know a word she never posted.
4. Ask for something unscripted. On a live video, ask the person to turn their head fully sideways, wave a hand across their face, or hold up a specific number of fingers. The FBI's list of tells includes lag, a voice that doesn't quite match, and unnatural movement. The CFTC adds distorted hands. Treat this as extra evidence, though. A pass doesn't clear anyone.
5. Search the video, not just the claim. For an endorsement clip, run a reverse image or video search on a frame. The FBI and ABA Foundation deepfake guide suggests it. Some fakes start as a real interview with new words put in the speaker's mouth. If you find the original and it says something different, you have your answer.

Prefer to watch? How to check a deepfake call, in under a minute.

Why spotting glitches isn't enough

Most deepfake advice is a list of visual tells: odd blinking, blurry hair edges, smeared teeth, lips a beat behind the words. They're worth knowing. There are two problems with leaning on them.

First, the tools keep improving, and last year's tells fade. Second, scammers design around them. A grainy video, a "bad connection," a call that drops after thirty seconds, a voice note instead of a call: each hides flaws, and each sounds normal. The Arup worker didn't miss a glitch. He saw a room of people he knew.

Voices are easier still. The FTC warns that a scammer needs only a short clip of someone's voice, the kind people post every day. The FBI's 2025 report says victims of cloned-voice calls from a "loved one in distress" reported losses of more than $5 million. Older relatives are the usual target, which is why our guide on protecting elderly parents from crypto scams puts the family code word near the top.

If you already sent money

Stop sending. The next ask usually comes as a fee, a tax or a "recovery" service. Our first 24 hours plan lays out what to do in order. Save the video or link, the wallet address, transaction IDs and chats. Then report it to the FBI at ic3.gov, typed in by hand, and to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Our step-by-step guide on how to report a crypto scam covers who else to tell and what to send.

If you aren't sure what you're looking at yet, our is this a scam? quiz takes a minute, and the Scams hub has every guide in one place.

The FBI's own numbers leave one question open. If $632 million in investment losses carried a known AI link last year, and more than $8 billion didn't, how many of the people in that larger number were talking to a face that was never there?

Deepfake crypto scam FAQ

What is a deepfake crypto scam?

It's a crypto scam that uses AI-made video, audio or images to impersonate someone you trust, such as a celebrity, an executive, a romantic partner or a relative. The fake person then asks you to send crypto or sign up on a fake platform. The FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report says investment scammers use AI videos and voices of celebrities, CEOs and trusted figures.

Can a live video call be a deepfake?

Yes. The FBI warned in December 2024 that criminals generate video for real-time chats with alleged executives, police and other authority figures. Hong Kong police said a romance ring used deepfakes on video calls before steering victims to a fake crypto platform. Seeing someone move and talk live no longer proves they are who they say.

How can I tell if a video is a deepfake?

Look for lag, a voice that doesn't match the mouth, unnatural movement and distorted hands, and run a reverse image search on a frame. But don't rely on that alone, because the tools keep improving. The stronger check is to ignore the video and verify the request by contacting the person through a number or website you already trust.

Can scammers clone my voice?

Yes. The FTC says a scammer needs only a short audio clip, which can come from videos posted online. The FBI's 2025 report says victims lost more than $5 million to cloned voices of loved ones in distress. Agree a family code word that has never been posted anywhere.

Where do I report a deepfake crypto scam?

Report it to the FBI at ic3.gov and to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Include the video or link, wallet addresses, transaction IDs and screenshots. The FBI says IC3 has no social media presence, so ignore any video or account offering to file a report for you.