MEXC Observes 200% Surge In Crypto Fraud Attempts

MEXC Exchange reported a sharp rise in fraudulent trading activity in the first quarter of 2025, driven largely by social engineering scams targeting inexperienced users.

According to its Q1 report, MEXC observed an alarming 200% quarter-over-quarter increase in fraud attempts between January and March. The exchange identified over 80,000 incidents tied to more than 3,000 fraud syndicates.

Social Engineering Fuels the Fraud Spike

Tracy Jin, MEXC’s Chief Operating Officer, said the surge was not due to traditional exploits, but rather a rise in socially engineered market manipulation.

“2025 is increasingly characterized by socially engineered market manipulation,” Jin said. “We’re seeing more ‘educational’ trading groups being used to mislead and exploit users.”

These scams often rely on deceptive tactics to gain victims’ trust. Once users are drawn in, bad actors deploy wash trading, front-running, and bot-driven market manipulation to extract funds.

India, CIS, and Indonesia Most Affected

The report noted that the most affected regions included India, with nearly 27,000 accounts flagged, followed by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) with 6,404 flagged accounts, and Indonesia with 5,603.

MEXC believes that a lack of financial education among new crypto users in these regions made them easy targets. Many entered the space without understanding common fraud schemes or how trading platforms work.

Broader Trend of Social Engineering in 2025

This wave of fraud mirrors a wider trend across the crypto sector. In April, on-chain analyst ZackXBT revealed a high-profile scam involving an elderly victim who lost $330 million in Bitcoin. Investigators managed to freeze $7 million, but most of the funds were unrecoverable.

In a separate incident in May, Coinbase disclosed a data breach that compromised the personal data of up to 70,000 users. While no funds were stolen, experts—including TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington—warned that leaked personal details could expose investors to real-world safety risks.

Growing Call for User Education

MEXC’s findings highlight a critical need for user education and fraud awareness, especially as more people enter the crypto space without prior financial literacy.

The exchange has not yet announced any specific countermeasures but emphasized that addressing the human layer of security is now more important than ever.

As social engineering becomes the dominant threat vector of 2025, exchanges and regulators face growing pressure to protect users not just through technology, but also through accessible, proactive education.