Scams

On February 5, 2026, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced the Safeguarding Consumers from Advertising Misconduct (SCAM) Act, requiring social platforms to verify advertisers and exposing noncompliant companies to FTC and state attorney general actions. In 2025, Reuters reported Meta’s internal estimates tied roughly $16 billion of 2024 revenue to suspect ads, prompting calls for SEC and FTC probes, while major banking associations and AARP voiced support for the bill.

A dataset containing 149 million stolen credentials, including access details for about 420,000 Binance accounts, was reported circulating among cybercriminals this week. Security researchers say the information comes from infostealing malware that harvests passwords, private keys, API keys and session tokens from infected devices. Recent data also indicates multi‑billion‑dollar crypto losses and rising attacks on exchanges and large organizations.

Crypto PR firm Chainstory said in a study released Tuesday that more than 60% of 2,893 industry press releases were linked to high‑risk or confirmed scam projects. It found only about 2% met publication standards for genuinely newsworthy updates, as paid wire services and niche outlets often guarantee placement with limited editorial checks.

Coin Metrics reported that stablecoin dust activity on Ethereum rose 2–3x after the Fusaka upgrade in December, based on an analysis spanning November 2025 through January 2026. Across 227 million USDC and USDT balance updates, 43% were under $1 and 38% were under a penny, while dusting was estimated to be 11% of transactions and 26% of active addresses on an average day.

Moltbook, an AI-focused social media site that attracted about 1.5 million bot accounts, has been shown to contain serious security flaws including open databases and malicious tools targeting crypto wallets. Security researchers documented prompt injection attacks, fake crypto trading utilities, and a major database exposure that revealed roughly 1.5 million bot passwords and tens of thousands of email addresses. Experts warn that as local AI models advance over the next one to two years, it may become impossible for major providers to use "kill switches" to stop harmful AI agents.

Arizona officials have intensified alerts over cryptocurrency ATM fraud after losses reached more than $177 million in 2024. A 2025 state law mandates multilingual warnings, 24/7 live support, and daily caps of $2,000 for new users and $10,500 for existing users. Nationwide figures indicate rising losses and complaints, with older adults heavily affected.

On Monday, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes issued a statewide alert after residents lost more than $177 million to crypto ATM scams in 2024, and her office rolled out a new complaint form for victims to report losses within 30 days. The warning coincides with a wider U.S. and international crackdown on crypto kiosks, including state-level transaction caps, lawsuits against major operators, proposed federal rules, outright bans in some regions, and ongoing enforcement actions against firms such as Athena Bitcoin, Crypto Dispensers, Coinme, and Bitcoin Bancorp's expansion plans.

FTX customers and Fenwick & West reached a proposed settlement in a fraud lawsuit, with both sides planning to seek approval from a Florida federal court on Feb. 27. The terms were not disclosed, and the parties asked the court to pause deadlines while they finalize the agreement. The case follows the exchange’s collapse in November 2022.

New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sent a letter to Congressional leaders criticizing the GENIUS Act. According to CNN, they contend the law lets issuers keep interest on assets backing flagged coins rather than prioritizing restitution; Chainalysis reports illicit crypto flows hit $154 billion in 2025 with stablecoins at 84%.

CertiK reported $370.3 million in digital assets were stolen via exploits and scams in January 2026, the highest monthly total in 11 months. Phishing accounted for $311.3 million, including a single $284 million social engineering loss, while PeckShield tracked 16 hacks totaling $86 million in the same month.