In 2025, virtual asset-related coin scam damages soared to an unprecedented scale. According to official data released by the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency, the scale of cryptocurrency pseudo-reception scams last year reached 3.1282 trillion won, a staggering 15-fold increase from 213.6 billion won the previous year.

The police recently analyzed the rapidly increasing methods of coin scams and warned citizens to be cautious. The first method involves fake project listings, where scammers induce investments by claiming "if the self-issued coin is listed on an exchange, you can earn profits." The second method is false interest payments, promising to pay interest in coins if coins are deposited.

The third method is price manipulation scams, where operators of coin trading rooms falsely claim they can manipulate prices and encourage investments. Lastly, investment platform scams involve collecting funds under the pretext of investing in virtual asset exchange financial platform businesses, promising high returns.

The police emphasized that these coin scam methods are becoming increasingly sophisticated, requiring heightened vigilance.