Scammers Shift to Big Game Hunting With Ransomware

Cryptocurrency scams have fallen by 77% in the first six months of 2023, according to a new report by blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis. However, ransom attacks are back in trend, with perpetrators pocketing 62.4% more revenue than the first six months of 2022.

The report, which was released on July 12, found that scam revenue fell from $3.3 billion to $1.1 billion over the period. This is the second consecutive year that scam revenue has trended downwards.

Chainalysis attributed the decline in scam revenue to a number of factors, including decreasing transaction volumes, increased awareness of scams, and stricter regulations.

However, the report also found that ransomware revenue increased by 62.4% to $449.1 million in the first half of 2023. This is due in part to the fact that attackers are now “big game hunting” large-scale organizations with deep pockets.

(Cumulative flows for ransomware revenue from January 1 to June 30 for 2022 and 2022. Source: Chainalysis)

Chainalysis warned that ransomware attacks are likely to continue to increase in the future, as attackers become more sophisticated and target larger organizations.

The report also found that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in scams is on the rise. AI can be used to create deepfakes, which are videos or audio recordings that have been manipulated to make it appear as if someone is saying or doing something they never said or did.

Chainalysis warned that AI-powered scams are likely to become more common in the future, as they become more sophisticated and difficult to detect.

The report concluded by noting that the cryptocurrency industry is still in its early stages of development, and that there is a need for increased awareness of scams and stricter regulations to protect users.