No country or region is immune to the harm caused by scammers.

Written by: Mars_DeFi

Translated by: Chopper, Foresight News

In the early days of cryptocurrency development, many believed that scams were an inevitable cost of innovation, and that "project runaways" or "exit scams" were limited to a few lawbreakers in the unregulated corners of the internet.

However, years later, independent investigative journalists like ZachXBT have gradually revealed a disturbing truth: cryptocurrency scams have long since globalized.

Between 2022 and 2025 alone, ZachXBT recorded 118 different types of financial fraud cases, ranging from multi-million dollar NFT runaways to complex cross-chain money laundering networks. His investigative reports exposed scammers across continents: from Memecoin projects endorsed by Silicon Valley influencers to Telegram scam gangs in Mumbai, and pump-and-dump groups in Istanbul.

The consistency presented by the data is shocking: no country or region is immune to the harm caused by scammers.

The Myth of Regional Scammers

The recent addition of a location display feature on social platform X, intended to enhance transparency, has sparked discussions related to xenophobia.

Many users have begun to attack others based on the country of origin of their accounts, particularly targeting accounts from India, Nigeria, and Russia, labeling the entire populations of these countries as "scammers."

However, ZachXBT's investigation tells a completely different story. Here is a brief summary of the investigation data from ZachXBT over the past three years:

In the 118 verified scam cases:

• About 41% originated from Asia (India, China, Southeast Asia)

• About 28% originated from North America

• About 15% originated from Europe

• About 10% involved Africa

• About 6% were untraceable due to mixers or privacy coins, with identities anonymized

The regional distribution of scammers in these 118 reports is also noteworthy:

Regional distribution of cryptocurrency scammers identified by ZachXBT

The data reveals not a problem region, but a moral deficiency that exists globally.

The above data uncovers a key fact often overlooked in online discussions: despite Africans (especially Nigerians) being frequently and unfairly labeled as cryptocurrency scammers, the reality is quite the opposite.

This indicates that cryptocurrency scams are not limited to a specific region, but are a global issue that transcends borders, languages, and cultures.

A Macroscopic View of Cryptocurrency Scams

1) Countries with the highest average amount stolen per victim from January 2025 to June 2025

For those who blindly blame Nigeria or India, the first chart is shocking enough. The top 10 countries with the highest average amount stolen per victim are:

• UAE — approximately $78,000

• USA — approximately $77,000

• Chile — approximately $52,000

• India — approximately $51,000

• Lithuania — approximately $38,000

• Japan — approximately $26,000

• Iran — approximately $25,000

• Israel — approximately $12,000

• Norway — approximately $12,000

• Germany — approximately $11,000

Noticed anything? Nigeria is not on this list at all, while the UAE, the USA, several European countries, and various Asian countries are prominently featured.

If those stereotypes were true, Nigeria or India should be at the top of this list, but that is not the case.

2) Global victim distribution map (2022-2025)

When we broaden our perspective to the total number of global victims, the geographical distribution becomes clearer. Victims are spread across North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia.

Regions with a higher number of victims include: Western Europe and Eastern Europe, North America, parts of Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.

So what about Africa? Compared to Europe, the Americas, and Asia, the total number of victim wallets in Africa is significantly lower. This is not my subjective judgment, but an objective fact presented by the map.

3) Regions with the fastest growth in cryptocurrency scam victims (2024 - 2025 year-on-year)

The third chart shows the regions with the most rapid growth in scams, with year-on-year growth rates for victims as follows:

• Eastern Europe — approximately 380%

• Middle East and North Africa — approximately 300%

• Central Asia / South Asia and Oceania — approximately 270%

• North America — approximately 230%

• Latin America — approximately 200%

• Asia-Pacific — approximately 140%

• Europe (overall) — approximately 120%

• Sub-Saharan Africa — approximately 100%

Again, it is emphasized that Africa ranks lowest in growth rate. Meanwhile:

• Victim growth in Europe and the Middle East and North Africa leads globally

• North America and Latin America follow closely

• Asia-Pacific and the region where India is located are at a moderate level

• Africa is the least affected region in the entire dataset

If Nigeria were the global scam center, Africa would not be at the bottom of this ranking.

The truth is: cryptocurrency scams are not a problem of Nigeria or India, but a global issue.

The data thoroughly shatters stereotypes:

• The countries with the highest average amount stolen per victim are not in Africa or India

• The regions with the fastest growth in scams are not in Africa or India

• Africa has the lowest year-on-year growth rate of victims

So why are Nigerians and Indians unfairly labeled as "scammers"? Because people often judge based on emotions rather than evidence; because a viral scam in a certain region can become a collective label for 200 million people, and the spread of online prejudice is much faster than the truth.

According to the data:

• Nigeria is not one of the high-loss countries.

• Africa has the lowest increase in the number of scam victims.

• Statistics from Europe and North America are worse.

• Regions in Asia, such as the UAE and India, face high-value theft cases.

If a region has the most scammers, then the victim situation in that region would also be severe (scammers operate where they are familiar). But Africa and India do not exhibit this pattern at all.

If Nigerians and Indians generalized like others, they could easily point fingers at Europe, the USA, South America, the Middle East, and North Africa.

But they do not do so, because responsible individuals understand: scammers are everywhere — present in every race, every region, every country; scam victims are also spread globally; no group should be labeled because of the actions of a few criminals.

Recently, posts criticizing "Indian scammers" by @TheQuartering and others (x.com/TheQuartering/status/1992098997281194375) fully demonstrate how xenophobia exploits people's real pain. Depicting an entire country or community as criminals only exacerbates the harm.

ZachXBT's investigation also revealed scams by American YouTubers, European DeFi developers, and Asian marketing groups. Cryptocurrency scams are not determined by nationality, but are the result of unrestrained anonymity, greed, and regulatory indifference.

How Can We Do Better?

For cryptocurrency to mature, it requires not only regulation but also a collective moral reformation. Specific actions can be taken as follows:

• Replace national bias with transparency: Require project founders to undergo public audits, complete KYC, and disclose on-chain information, rather than making judgments based on nationality.

• Support investigative journalism: Investigators like ZachXBT and small detective communities have helped avoid potential losses of millions of dollars. We should spread their work results rather than nationalist noise.

• Always remain cautious: Treat every project as a potential scam until proven reliable.

• Report rather than ridicule: When suspicious accounts are discovered, use verification channels or reporting resources instead of spreading hate.

Conclusion

Cryptocurrency was born from ideals of decentralization and freedom, but in the absence of accountability mechanisms, these ideals have been distorted into a global tool for exploitation. Every region has scammers, and every region has victims. Let us stop the "on-chain xenophobia."

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