A blockchain intelligence company warns that AI is rapidly reshaping the crypto crime landscape, accelerating both the scale and sophistication of scams.
In a new CNBC interview, TRM Labs’ global head of policy, Ari Redbord, says AI-driven crypto fraud became one of the firm’s dominant themes in 2025 and is poised to intensify further.
“That was a huge theme for us in 2025, and we’re going to see that continue in 2026. We’ve seen about a 500% increase in the use of AI for scam activity in 2025 from the prior year. We’re likely to see significant increases in 2026.”
He explains that AI does not fundamentally change criminal behavior, but dramatically increases its effectiveness.
“AI supercharges criminal activity. It doesn’t change the landscape per se, but it allows bad actors to move faster and more effectively.”
A study published in December showed that AI scam agents achieved 46% victim compliance in romance scams as compared with just 18% for human operators, supporting Redbord’s view that AI is boosting criminal activity.
According to Redbord, AI has eliminated many of the traditional red flags victims once relied on, while using deepfakes to make the schemes more convincing.
“You think about these deepfakes, right? We don’t need emails that are filled with broken English anymore. They can be perfect. They can be targeted at specific individuals. We can use video, and we can use voice now. So really, AI is supercharging illicit activity.”
At the same time, Redbord stresses that law enforcement and compliance teams are also adopting AI to keep pace.
“Really importantly, the good guys are also using it. At TRM, we’re using it, the FBI is using it, law enforcement globally is also using AI to move as fast as these bad actors. On the one hand, we have to figure out how to stop the bad guys from using it. On the other hand, we really need to leverage it ourselves to go after this type of illicit activity.”
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