Americans are falling victim to Iran-linked crypto scams: report

By TheStreet Roundtable

18 days ago

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Behind the seemingly innocent messages on dating apps like Tinder and Bumble, a sophisticated state-sponsored operation reportedly is draining American bank accounts to fund global conflict.

According to a report by The Mirror US, the Iranian regime is utilizing AI-driven cryptocurrency scams to help fund the attacks against U.S. and Israeli assets in the Middle East.

The "pig butchering" trap

Bezalel Eithan Raviv, CEO of the blockchain forensic firm Lionsgate Network, identifies this as part of a "triangular threat" involving Iran, North Korea, and Russia.

The operation relies on "pig butchering" scams, where AI chatbots powered by large language models (LLMs) impersonate real people to form deep emotional connections with victims.

“They can impersonate anyone,” Raviv noted, explaining that these bots are trained on millions of previous victims to deliver an engagement “more realistic than you can get from a real human.”

The process involves roughly two months of "grooming," where the AI establishes rapport through shared interests and displays of fake wealth, such as images featuring high-end luxury brands.

Liquidating the future

Once trust is established, victims are directed to fraudulent investment platforms. To keep the ruse alive, scammers often allow targets to withdraw small amounts of money.

This tactic builds enough confidence for victims to eventually liquidate significant assets, including their 401(k) retirement plans, the report said.

Once the money is converted to crypto, hackers "cloak" the funds by moving them across various blockchains to evade detection. Raviv estimated that $1 trillion is being scammed out of individuals globally at the end of this funnel.

“This is how they retain new crypto,” he explained, adding that the success rate of the code is "incredible."

A growing national security crisis

The scale of this threat was also echoed in recent FBI data. The Bureau's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) revealed that crypto-related fraud losses surged to $11.36 billion in 2025—a 22% increase from the prior year.

Investment-related fraud was the primary driver, accounting for $7.2 billion in losses.

Raviv warned of a "huge chasm" between the speed of these cybercrimes and law enforcement's ability to intervene.

He noted that dollars once held in major U.S. institutions like Chase are being moved into Iranian crypto accounts, leaving authorities struggling to keep pace with the infrastructure-level problem.