A woman in her 70s in New York fell for a cryptocurrency investment scam that approached her via messenger and lost all $300,000 of her retirement funds. Investigators urged special caution, saying tailored investment scams using artificial intelligence tools have been surging.

CryptoPolitan, a blockchain media outlet, reported on April 28 that Kyle Holder, a 73-year-old woman living in New York, responded to a WhatsApp message promoting a cryptocurrency investment lecture and lost $300,000 in savings over about three months.

Holder received the message in December last year while she was taking time off from her job as an occupational therapist due to an injury. She said she thought it was a chance to use her spare time to find a new source of income and prepare retirement funds. She was then connected to a person using the name "Niam," who, along with people claiming to be customer support staff, guided her through opening cryptocurrency wallets and moving assets.

At first, the account displayed high returns and balances as if real profits were being generated. Believing it, Holder transferred a total of $300,000 over about two months, splitting it among 14 cryptocurrency wallets. When the funds later failed to show up properly, she questioned whether it was a scam. The other side claimed the victim had made a critical mistake by sending the assets to the wrong address and shifted the blame to her.

CryptoPolitan explained that the method falls under the "Pig Butchering" tactic commonly used by investment scam rings. It involves building trust with a victim, making it appear small investments are profitable, and inducing progressively larger deposits.

The damage went beyond financial loss and spread across her daily life. Holder suffered severe depression and was taken to a hospital with help from a social welfare agency. She is reported to be living in an assisted living facility supported by Medicaid.

The New York field office of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation division said it tracked 14 wallet addresses the victim used and confirmed they were linked to five laundering wallets connected to about $5 million stolen from multiple victims.

Investigators believe criminal groups have recently been advancing scam techniques by using AI technology. Investigator Harry Chavis said criminals are using AI tools obtained on the dark web to collect personal data and select vulnerable targets, and that AI is also being used to write conversation scripts tailored to victims' tendencies.

He also said, "This kind of crime is a very sophisticated scam and anyone can become a victim," and stressed that people should report it immediately once they realise they have been victimised. He said the earlier the report, the higher the chances of tracing stolen funds or identifying perpetrators.

Statistics also show cryptocurrency-based investment scams are spreading rapidly. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center said total cybercrime complaints filed in 2025 came to 453,000, with losses reaching $21 billion. Investment scams accounted for 49 percent of all complaints.

In particular, cryptocurrency-related scams recorded the largest losses. There were 181,565 related complaints, with losses tallied at $11 billion. Complaints tied to AI tools totalled 22,364, with losses reaching $893 million.

Similar crimes have followed in other regions. In a separate case sentenced on April 23, the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands sentenced Suzz Man Yu Inos to 71 months in prison on charges related to a bitcoin transfer scam targeting older women in Saipan, Guam, Washington and California. Prosecutors said Inos formed close relationships with victims and then took money from them under the pretext of false investments. The court also ordered restitution of about $769,355.

New York City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection cited unsolicited contact, messages stressing urgency and approaches demanding secrecy as typical features of AI-based scams. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission also warned that investment offers that demand cryptocurrency payments or promote guaranteed profits are key danger signs. It urged people to be especially wary when someone first approaches them on messenger to encourage investment participation, or when the other party directly guides them through opening cryptocurrency wallets and making transfers.