Sextortion kits fuel the great crypto heist

Sextortion kits, artificial intelligence (AI), and the rising price of bitcoin are making crypto scams extremely attractive, cybersecurity experts warn.

The number of crypto-related scams has skyrocketed in the past year, reaching a staggering 1,216% increase in just twelve months. Over 150 cryptocurrency-related scams were identified in January 2025 alone.

A report by cybersecurity firm Fortra reveals that attackers are increasingly turning to cryptocurrency. Stolen crypto is relatively easy to launder, and digital coins are an attractive target, especially with bitcoin recently surging to $100K.

Researchers have identified that cryptocurrency attacks are closely related to business email compromise (BEC) attacks.

BEC usually involves attackers impersonating a trusted person in the organization – such as a company executive, supplier, or business partner – to manipulate employees into transferring money, sharing sensitive data, or granting unauthorized access.

While gift cards remain the most popular method for cashing out stolen money (20.7%), cryptocurrencies, along with other payment methods, also play a significant role, accounting for 8.3%.

In January 2025, researchers identified 122 unique wallets linked to scammers. They have requested an average of $5,075.28, with amounts ranging from as little as $0.17 to as much as $53,438.00. The most active wallet received 0.09 BTC (around $9,047) in only two transactions.

“This illustrates why cryptocurrency-related scams remain common, as they continue to result in significant financial gains for scammers,” says Fortra researchers.

The adoption of AI is also fueling the rise of crypto scams, as widely accessible AI tools allow attackers to create compelling scam messages more efficiently.

In the past, grammar mistakes often exposed scammers, but now, AI crafts flawless and persuasive emails. These emails can be sent to hundreds of potential victims, each containing a crypto wallet address – leaving criminals to simply wait for the money to roll in.

Researchers also link the increase in scams with the popularity of so-called “sextortion kits” that are being distributed on the dark web. Such kits provide entry-level scammers with the knowledge to exploit people’s trust for their gain. With this information, criminals can easily conduct large-scale extortion campaigns.

In September 2024, the New York State Police warned about automated sextortion scams, in which scammers exploited leaked emails from data breaches to pressure victims into opening their wallets. They often falsely claimed to possess explicit webcam footage despite having no real information about their targets.