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BOISE — Fraud is still a year-round risk, the Idaho Department of Finance and North American Securities Administrators Association remind Idahoan investors.
Based on NASAA’s 2025 Enforcement Report and annual survey of top investor threats, IDOF has identified the top investor frauds and schemes to watch for as the new year begins.
1. Affinity or “Pig Butchering” Schemes: This long con combines romance and finance — scammers befriend victims online, build trust over time and convince them to invest heavily in fake platforms before disappearing with the funds.
2. Deepfake Impersonations: Bad actors use artificial intelligence to generate deepfake videos and cloned voices of celebrities or trusted friends to solicit money or endorse fake products.
3. Phantom AI Trading Bots: Criminals sell AI-powered “trading bots” that promise guaranteed returns. These are often blackbox scams where the algorithm and profits do not exist.
4. Digital Asset & Crypto Fraud: Digital asset scams that often involve unregistered securities and vague promises of high returns in the cryptocurrency space.
5. Fake AI Equity Pitches: Scammers are selling stock in companies that purportedly develop breakthrough AI models. These are often “pump and dump” schemes or sales of equity in fake companies.
6. Social Media Lures: These are investment scams originating on platforms like Facebook and X.
7. Short-Form Video Hype: Scammers use TikTok and Instagram Reels to post professional- looking videos that tout “get rich quick” schemes to younger demographics.
8. Text & WhatsApp Traps: These are unsolicited messages on Telegram and WhatsApp that often start as a “wrong number” text, then pivot into a conversation about an exclusive investment opportunity.
9. Targeting Older Investors: Older investors are specifically targeted with traditional scams involving promissory notes and equities, as well as newer digital frauds.
10. Using AI and phishing, fraudsters are seizing control of existing financial or social media accounts to steal funds or solicit money from the victim’s contact list under the guise of an emergency.
11. Website & App Spoofing: Using AI to general professional graphics, scammers create clone websites that look identical to identical financial institutions to trick users into handing over login credentials and funds.
12. Unregistered Solicitors: These involve unregistered individuals. Despite professional- looking websites and pitches, many sellers are not licensed.
To find more information about protecting investments, visit finance.idaho.gov.
