In 2025, impersonation scams have become an alarming trend sweeping across the crypto industry. From fake journalist accounts to deepfake videos and phishing schemes, scammers are increasingly leveraging social engineering tactics to deceive individuals and institutions alike. As the lines between legitimate media, authorities, and fraud blur, it’s more crucial than ever for crypto enthusiasts and professionals to stay vigilant and adopt stringent verification practices to safeguard their assets and reputations.
Key Takeaways
- •Impersonation scams surged in 2025, targeting crypto media, investors, and regulators through social engineering and fake accounts.
- •Scammers employ tactics from cloning journalist profiles to deploying deepfake videos, phishing, and SMS scams to fraudulently extract data or funds.
- •The recent overhaul of X’s verification system has made impersonation more prevalent, with cloned accounts appearing increasingly authentic.
- •Crypto community members must adopt quick and simple verification routines to detect and avoid impostor schemes effectively.
- •Understanding the scam patterns, such as urgent requests for payments or personal info, is essential to prevent falling for these schemes.
Impersonators Exploit Crypto’s Growing Popularity in 2025
Impersonation has become one of the most prevalent social-engineering tactics in the crypto world this year. Bad actors use these methods to steal sensitive data, drain digital wallets, and sow confusion between trusted media outlets and outright fraud. For example, a Telegram profile mimicking “Tobias Vilkenson | Cointelegraph” reached out to BNB Chain representatives with false promises of coverage, only to solicit payments via a personal USDT wallet. Such instances are alarmingly frequent, with multiple reports from Cointelegraph staff confirming scammers impersonating journalists using stolen photos and identities.
August 2025: Fake CoinMarketCap Journalists
Several crypto projects received phishing emails from email addresses like team-coinmarketcap.com and cloned X accounts claiming to be former CoinMarketCap reporters. These impostors requested remote device access during fake interviews, paving the way for device breaches. CoinMarketCap issued warnings following these scams.
September 2025: The Empire Podcast Malware
Scammers impersonated the popular Empire podcast, inviting influencers to fake interviews through malicious links. When clicked, these installs infected macOS devices with malware, stealing browser cookies and crypto wallet credentials.
Deepfake Political Figures
A convincing AI-generated video of Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, John Lee, promoted a fake investment scheme, highlighting how advanced AI tools facilitate sophisticated scams. Similar videos circulated the city’s officials just weeks earlier, supporting fake cryptocurrencies like “National Hong Kong Coin.”
Crypto Phishing and Fraud
In April, over 100 Australians received SMS messages falsely claiming their Binance accounts were compromised, urging them to transfer funds to attackers’ wallets. Additionally, impersonators posing as regulators, particularly the UK FCA, have submitted nearly 5,000 reports this year, often promising to recover funds before extracting sensitive information.
Across these incidents, the common thread is the impersonator’s manipulation of familiar identities—quickly shifting from public-facing personas to private channels, and then requesting actions that bypass standard procedures. This underlines the importance of rigorous verification at every step, including checking official author pages, email domains, and social profiles.
Quick Verification Tips
- Verify author profiles on official websites. Every Cointelegraph contributor has a verified profile with reputable contact links.
- Always check email domains—official emails come from
@cointelegraph.com. Use the site’s contact info for additional confirmation. - Be cautious of near-identical X handles or newly created profiles, including those with paid “Premium” badges.
- If approached via Telegram or other messaging apps, verify the handle within the app and report suspicious accounts to official bots like @notoscam.
- Never click on links or download files from unverified or urgent messages. When in doubt, contact the organization directly using official contact points.
Conclusion
In a landscape where crypto scams adapt rapidly to technological advances, maintaining vigilance and employing simple verification routines can significantly reduce risks. Whether it’s verifying journalist identities, scrutinizing suspicious links, or understanding common scam patterns, these steps help foster a safer, more transparent crypto environment. As scammers become more convincing, educating users and enforcing strict verification standards remains essential to protecting the integrity of cryptocurrency markets and community trust.