5 Payment Scams You Want to Avoid in 2025

According to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, consumers lost over $1 trillion to internet scams in 2024 — a figure that is expected to rise in 2025.

The research shows that we can’t afford to ignore threat actors and the techniques they use to scam us. Whether it is fake purchases on Facebook Marketplace, phishing scams posing as your CEO, or voice cloning tools imitating your loved ones, users need to be cautious to avoid giving away their money or personal info.

After all, even security teams fighting the bad actors from the front line are getting fatigued, as pen testing platform Hackthebox reported, with 84% of cybersecurity professionals experiencing burnout.

Awareness is our first line of defense, which is why we’re exploring the top payment scams to avoid in 2025.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Five Major New Payment Scams in 2025
3. The Bottom Line
4. FAQs
5. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Five Major New Payment Scams in 2025
3. The Bottom Line
Show Full Guide
4. FAQs
5. References

Five Major New Payment Scams in 2025

AI-Powered Deepfake Scams

Artificial intelligence (AI) has heralded a new era in which people struggle to tell what’s real and what’s fake. Fraudsters have quickly taken advantage of this new state of affairs, using deepfakes to enable phishing attempts, extortion schemes, and misinformation.

The largest successful attack so far happened in 2024, when a finance worker was scammed into paying $25 million to a fraudster who used deepfake technology to pose as the company’s chief financial officer during a video conference call.

Unfortunately, these kinds of attacks are becoming increasingly common, with Deloitte predicting deepfake fraud will triple within three years, causing an estimated $40 billion in economic losses by 2027.

The FBI also sounded the alarm in December 2024, warning that generative AI-related crime will skyrocket in 2025, stating that “criminals will exploit generative AI to commit fraud on a larger scale which increases the believability of their schemes.”

With AI now offering more options to scammers, we will likely see more payment scams in different forms in 2025 — especially the rise in synthetic videos used to impersonate trusted individuals and organizations.

Refund Phishing

Traditional phishing gets a new twist in 2025 in the form of “refund phishing.” According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), refund scams occur when fraudsters target people who’ve already lost money to a scam.

For example, an attacker can buy a “sucker’s list” filled with the personal information of people who’ve paid scammers in the past. Using this list, the fraudster can send the victim a phishing email, text, or call claiming they can help get the lost money back.

In these scams, the fraudster often acts as if they are representing a government agency or consumer advocacy group to gain the target’s trust. They will also ask for payment or personal information to pay the “refund.”

This scam plays on people’s natural inclination to rectify unauthorized charges and to recover lost money — but in this case, the “remedy” provided is a trap.

New Scamming Tactics on Facebook Marketplace

Facebook is perennially accused of not taking online fraud on its Marketplace seriously. To that effect, Facebook parent Meta announced at the end of 2024 that it had taken down more than two million accounts associated with scam networks in the United Arab Emirates, Myanmar, Philippines, Cambodia, and Laos.

A January 2025 survey of 1,000 U.S. Facebook users shows that the platform exhibits a high tendency for scams, with 14% of users reporting instances of being scammed and 79% encountering scam attempts.

Meanwhile, a TSB investigation found that over a third of adverts on Facebook Marketplace were likely scams, with UK customers estimated to have lost nearly ￡60 million on the platform.

Specific Facebook Marketplace scams you might see more frequently in 2025 include fake payment confirmations, where scammers pretend to pay for items using popular platforms like Venmo, Cash App, or Zelle.

They send fraudulent payment confirmations, attempting to trick sellers into shipping items before receiving payment.

Another scam shoppers are likely to see is a QR code scam, in which buyers or sellers attempt to get other users to scan QR codes as part of transactions, leading to identity theft or unauthorized payments.

The one that is less talked about is the overpayment scam. Here, a buyer overpays for an item and requests a refund for the excess amount. However, this is a trick.

The buyer will then file a chargeback with their bank, recovering the full purchase price while keeping the “refund” you sent.

Voice Cloning Scams

Due to the proliferation of generative AI tools, voice cloning technology is becoming increasingly accessible to scammers. In just a matter of seconds, voice cloning tools allow fraudsters to mimic the voices of friends, family members, or authority figures and trick victims into handing over money or sensitive information.

One of the main challenges presented by voice deepfakes is that it can be difficult to differentiate between real and synthetic voices. For instance, McAfee found that 70% of people said they weren’t confident they could tell the difference between a cloned voice and an AI voice.

Voice deepfakes are such an issue that the UK is banning overseas callers from spoofing UK mobile numbers, with new rules arriving in January 2025.

UK telecom operators are now legally obliged to identify and block calls originating outside the UK, which present as UK numbers, except in certain legitimate use cases.

Yet despite emerging legislation worldwide, we expect to see more voice cloning attempts in 2025.

Crypto & Investment Fraud

The value of cryptocurrencies saw a sudden resurgence after Donald Trump was declared the winner of the last U.S. elections. Bitcoin reached $100,000 for the first time in December 2024.

The bullish run has led to a greater marketing narrative for crypto scammers, making it much easier to convince novice investors into fraudulent schemes.

One of the most common is a pump and dump scam, where investors attempt to artificially drive up the price of a stock or memecoin before selling their holdings, resulting in the price falling and many buyers losing their money.

There have been lots of news stories circulating alleging that online influencers like Kim Kardashian, Logan Paul, and Andrew Tate have been involved or used in crypto scams to various degrees. Whether or not these allegations are correct, these stories highlight the need for investors to be extremely vigilant for these kinds of scams.

Traders should also be on the lookout for fraudsters masquerading as celebrities or reputable trading websites, luring victims with promises of early investment opportunities or fake giveaways.

In 2025, we expect to see more fake celebrity endorsements attempting to lure people away from their money or seed phrases, while unscrupulous or negligent influencers inevitably promote pump-and-dump schemes.

The Bottom Line

The internet remains a mixed bag of opportunities and threats. Staying safe starts with taking everything offered to you with a pinch of salt.

While governments and security agencies are urged to increase penalties for offenders and strengthen regulations in online spaces, the best defense is to adopt a “safety-first” mindset.

Always proceed cautiously when faced with unsolicited investment offers or anything that seems too good to be true.

A safety-first approach could mean conducting thorough research on any scheme, offer, or activity that will require you to part with your money and personal credentials.

Remember to verify the source of any unexpected video or audio messages, especially those requesting sensitive information or financial transactions.

FAQs