Apr 27, 2026
Kyle Holder, 73, spent decades building up $300K for retirement. But within about three months, one AI-powered crypto scam stole everything.
According to CBS News, this story began in December 2024 when Holder got a message on WhatsApp advertising a crypto investment course. At the time, Holder was in a vulnerable position. A recent injury meant she didn't have a way to work in her profession as an occupational therapist (1).
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Holder told CBS News she "thought maybe this was a way that I could use my time, start something new and make money, to carry me into my older years." (2)
After replying to the initial message, Holder got in touch with someone called "Niamh," who presented herself as a sympathetic single parent. Niamh and a mysterious member of the "customer service team" then taught Holder how to create crypto wallets and transfer tokens.
At first, Holder only sent a tiny amount, but she saw thousands appear back in her crypto wallet shortly afterward.
After that initial "win," things got very dark very fast. Niamh played with Holder's heartstrings, claiming that, "The money I lent you includes child support for my daughter Alice and even some of the funds obtained through loans."
Over the next two months, Holder transferred a total of $300K to 14 crypto wallets connected to this scam operation.
When her savings dried up and no money reappeared in her wallet, Holder became desperate. She asked Niamh point-blank if this was a scam.
In response, Niamh said Holder made a "fatal mistake" by sending digital assets to the wrong crypto wallet address. To add insult to injury, Niamh wrote, "Oh my goodness, honey, how could you make such a little mistake?"
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As the harsh reality set in, Holder fell into a deep depression that left her bedbound. A few weeks later, social services brought Holder to a hospital, and she's now in an assisted living facility with the help of Medicaid.
Deepfakes and digital coins are defrauding millions
When the IRS Criminal Investigation New York Field Office looked into Holder's case, they discovered the 14 wallet addresses linked to five wallets. Criminals used these accounts to cover their tracks and make away with $5 million from various scams (3) across several victims.
IRS agent Harry Chavis said he believes these criminals used AI tools on the dark web to sift through personal details and identify vulnerable victims, creating more believable and targeted schemes.
As Chavis told CBS News, today's scammers are "using these dark AI tools to write scripts to literally go specifically to the victim." (4)
And data shows that tragic stories like Holder's are becoming more common. According to the FBI's latest statistics, Americans lost $21 billion in cyber-related scams in 2025, many of which used AI and cryptocurrency (5).
49% of the 453,000 cyber-related fraud complaints to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2025 were "investment scams" similar to Holder's case. In total, the FBI says victims of these frauds lost $17.7 billion (6).
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FBI agents said that scams involving cryptocurrencies were the most costly in 2025, with $11 billion in losses across 181,565 reported complaints (7).
As AI becomes a growing safety concern, IC3 started analyzing scams that use this technology in its latest report. It found that 22,364 IC3 complaints were related to AI, totaling $893 million in losses (8).
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Smart strategies to avoid cyber scams
Although AI gives cybercriminals more power, you can protect yourself by recognizing the most common warning signs.
According to the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), a few telltale warning signs of an AI scam include contacting you "out of the blue" and messages that create a sense of urgency or demand secrecy (9).
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) explicitly said that any business asking for cryptocurrencies isn't legit. FTC agents also say to walk away from anyone who "guarantees" profits on an investment in the crypto market. (10)
If you're afraid you or someone you know fell for an online scam, there are many official hotlines like the FBI's IC3 (11) and the FTC's Report Fraud portal (12) where you can reach out for help.
IRS agents like Chavis also encouraged victims not to let fear and shame stop them from reporting cybercrimes. As Chavis told CBS News, "These are highly sophisticated scams and anyone can be a victim." The sooner you report a scam to authorities, the greater the odds they can track down the criminals and, hopefully, bring them to justice (13).
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
CBS News (1),(2),(3),(4),(13); Federal Bureau of Investigation (5),(6),(7),(8); NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (9); Federal Trade Commission (10),(12); FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (11)
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Eric Esposito is a freelance contributor on MoneyWise with an interest in financial markets, investing, and trading. In addition to MoneyWise, Eric’s work can be found on financial publications such as WallStreetZen and CoinDesk. When not researching the latest stock market trends, Eric enjoys biking, walking his dog, and spending time with family in Central Florida. Eric holds a BA in English from Quinnipiac University.
