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10/06/2026 10:41 pm
TL;DR: Crypto scams are getting more sophisticated as AI, fraud-as-a-service networks, and cross-border operations raise the bar for exchanges and investigators, according to SumSub. The identity lesson is that trust in digital financial systems now depends on stronger user education, better fraud detection, and tighter collaboration across security and law enforcement.
NHIMG editorial — based on content published by SumSub: an episode on how Coinbase investigates scams, protects privacy, and partners with law enforcement
Questions worth separating out
Q: How should crypto platforms reduce scam losses without slowing legitimate users?
A: Use layered controls that combine identity verification, behavioural signals, and transaction risk scoring at the moment of action.
Q: Why do pig butchering scams remain effective even with stronger security controls?
A: They exploit trust formation, not just technical gaps.
Q: How can teams tell whether fraud education is actually working?
A: Look for operational outcomes, not attendance metrics.
Practitioner guidance
- Map scam detection to identity lifecycle checkpoints Identify where onboarding, authentication, transfer approval, and account recovery create the highest fraud exposure, then place controls and review points around those transitions.
- Add context-aware warnings before high-risk transfers Trigger plain-language prompts when the user is about to move funds to a new wallet, a first-time counterparty, or an unusually high-value destination.
- Tighten investigator handoffs and evidence logging Document who can escalate a case, what telemetry is preserved, and when law-enforcement referrals are made so response actions remain traceable.
What's in the full article
SumSub's full episode covers the operational detail this post intentionally leaves for the source:
- John Kothanek's perspective on how Coinbase investigates scams and protects user privacy in practice
- Discussion of how global agencies and exchanges coordinate when fraud cases cross jurisdictions
- Examples of blockchain analytics and transparency reporting in real fraud investigations
- The role of human investigators in tracing fraud patterns beyond automated detection
👉 Read SumSub's episode on Coinbase fraud investigations and crypto safety →
Crypto scams and trust: what does it mean for identity teams?
Explore further
12/06/2026 4:23 am
Crypto fraud is becoming an identity governance problem, not just an anti-scam problem. The article shows that attackers succeed by manipulating trust, identity cues, and user behaviour across a distributed financial environment. That moves the issue beyond simple account security and into the lifecycle of how platforms prove, monitor, and respond to identity risk. The practitioner conclusion is that crypto safety now depends on identity controls that can operate at transaction speed.
A few things that frame the scale:
- 4.6% of all public GitHub repositories contain at least one hardcoded secret, according to The State of Secrets Sprawl 2025.
- 15% of commit authors have leaked at least one secret in their contribution history, according to The State of Secrets Sprawl 2025.
A question worth separating out:
Q: Who should own fraud response when crypto scams cross platform and law-enforcement boundaries?
A: Ownership should sit with a coordinated response model that includes security, investigations, compliance, and legal teams. Internal analysts need clear authority to preserve evidence, escalate suspicious patterns, and coordinate external referrals. The key is documented handoff, because identity abuse in crypto often spans multiple jurisdictions and actors.
👉 Read our full editorial: Crypto fraud defense is becoming an identity trust problem
