The revenues from the crypto fraud reached record levels last year due to an increase in so-called “romantic frauds”, because Cyber criminals use artificial intelligence and become increasingly organized, experts warn experts.
In the U.S. tea company report, he states that the wallets are connected to the fraud in 2024. year received $ 9.9 billion in crypto, according to initial estimates. This amount is expected to increase to record 12.4 billion dollars. Annual assessments of the scam activities increased by an average of 24 percent between individual reporting periods from 2020. years.
According to this report by 2024, the main reason for the growth of revenue from the fraud was the increase in romantic fraud, known and as “pig butchering”. It is a type of investment or romantic scam in which the fraud is building a relationship with the victim through social networks or apparent applications, with the aim of deceiving a false investment opportunity. The name comes from the idea that the fraudsters must first “fold” victims of flattery and false emotional connections before the “penny”, ie rob.
More and more victims of impact
In 2024. The revenues of these fraud increased by almost 40 percent per year, while the number of payments to deceit orders increased by almost 210 percent in the same period, the analysis is stated. The company emphasizes that the difference in growth rates shows the expansion of the victim base, where the fraudsters give a larger number of victims that pay less amounts, conveys CNBC.
Although the fraudsters conducting a “slaughterhouse” mainly operate from large deceiver centers in Southeast Asia, the report indicates the signs that such centers are geographical. In December last year, the Nigerian anti-corruption agency arrested 792 people in a raid on one building, where the suspect was allegedly organized by romantic fraud, aiming predominantly victims from Europe and America.
Romantic scams often rely on victims of trafficking in human beings to enforce the fraud. Investigation from 2022. He discovered that Chinese criminal unions will rotate and transfer victims to the centers in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, where they force them to cyber scams. Although these fraudulent complexes are most famous for the leading pigs “, they also serve as refuge for other types of internet fraud, said Erik Hajnc, a global analyst in the International Mission of Justice.
The phenomenon of multiple criminal groups operating in the same complex also mended on the Internet through the creation of illegal crypto markets and networks, cites Čajnalisis. This trend is primarily managed by Huione Guarantee, an online forum and platform that works as “everything in one place” for the shadow actors who want to buy and sell fraudulent technology, infrastructure and resources.
This platform in Chinese is associated with Huione Group, a Cambodian conglomerate that provides legitimate services such as international remittances, insurance, and in the past even luxury tourism. Cajnaisis data show that Huione Guarante activity on the block ceiner is intensely associated with the “slaughterhouse pig” and the illegal crypto trade in frauder technology and services.
One of the main services offered on the platform is money laundering, which fraudsters are used to conceal their illegal activity. Among illegal products available on the site there are lists of target data, hosting services, social networking orders and AI software. During 2024. year, the sellers of the cheater technology associated with the Huion platform received at least $ 375.9 million in crypto. From 2021. Years, Huione Guarante and sellers who operate through his platforms processed as much as $ 70 billion in crypto transactions.
In the disclaimer on their site, the platform states that it does not participate in the business of its beneficiaries or understand their specific activities, but is exclusively responsible for guaranteeing payments between customers and sellers.
Artificial intelligence makes it easier for fraud
In 2024. years, some of the most successful sellers on Huion platforms were also providers, whose revenues increased by 1,900 percent on an annual basis, has shown research of tea. This growth indicates the expansion of the use of generative AI technology for the purpose of crypto fraud, whereby fraudsters use artificial intelligence for other people’s imitation or generation that victims deceive to invest money in false investments.
The report is stated that there are dozens of software sellers who sell and the software intended for fraud. According to Eladu Fux, the Chief’s Chief of Cajnalisis Sector and the Aliya, Generative APP application, Generative AI enables the scammers to increase the volume of their activities.
“Generative AI allows the creation of convincing false content, including sites and advertisements, which run investment and purchasing fraud, making them more convincing and striving for discovery,” Fux said.
Some sellers on Huion platforms even offer “facial change” services for $ 200 in the encrypt.
From the launch of Openai Chetgpts 2022. year and its sharp growth of popularity, there are more and more cases in which large companies lose millions due to fraud. These frauds use generative and technology to create false identities and votes, enabling cheaters to represent themselves as actual persons and bypass identity checks.
Cajnalisis warns that potential and technology to exponentially increase the number of crypto scams further complicates their suppression. For the fight against fraud in the crypto sector, long-term and coordinated efforts of state agencies, regulators and organizations will be stated in the report.
