77% of People Who Engage With an AI Scam Call End Up Losing Money

In 2026, deepfakes already account for 11% of all global fraud, and 77% of people who engage with an AI scammer on a phone call end up losing money, Sumsub reports.

How it technically works: scammers collect voice samples of a victim or a public figure from social media, webinars, or recorded calls, then use voice-synthesis tools to create a convincing clone — calling as a "boss," a "relative," or a well-known crypto investor asking for an urgent transfer.

Why crypto specifically is such a frequent target: a crypto transfer is irreversible, and AI-enabled scams in the crypto space are already 4.5 times more profitable than traditional fraud — crypto scam losses alone topped $14 billion in 2025, per a UN warning about a global wave of organized fraud.

What this means in practice: if a call sounds like a familiar voice but urgently and secretly asks for a crypto transfer, verify the person's identity through a separate channel before acting. Fewer than 5% of funds stolen this way are ever recovered.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.