A surge in sophisticated scams aimed at crypto executives through AI-generated deepfakes has been warned about by Polygon’s Sandeep Nailwal.
A concerning increase in deepfake scams employing his likeness to mislead crypto founders has been flagged by Sandeep Nailwal, the co-founder of Polygon. Recognized as one of the most prominent Ethereum layer-2 networks, Polygon has been highlighted in this context.
In a social media post published on X on May 13, it was stated by Nailwal that multiple individuals had recently contacted him to confirm whether a conversation had occurred with him over Zoom.
However, his participation in those meetings had not occurred, as altered videos of him were used by scammers to establish trust and deceive individuals into installing malicious software.
The Mechanics of a Scam Operation
It was stated by Nailwal that the scam originated from the breach of the Telegram account owned by Shreyansh Singh, the head of Polygon Ventures.
Startup founders associated with Polygon’s investment network were then contacted by the attackers, who posed as familiar contacts attempting to resume conversations related to funding opportunities.
Phishing links made to appear official were used to invite interested recipients to Zoom meetings.
Desktop access was required by these links, which directed users to video calls where AI-generated representations of Nailwal, Singh, and a woman claiming affiliation with the investment team were presented.
It was noted by Nailwal that the calls lacked audio, and instead, participants were prompted to install a Software Development Kit (SDK).
However, it was stated by the Polygon founder that the action was intended to compromise the recipients’ systems with malicious software.
Growing Alarm Over Deepfake Threats
The incident involving Nailwal has not been considered an isolated case, highlighting that deepfake-related fraud is emerging as a more serious and widespread concern across the industry.
In recent years, an increasing number of deepfake impersonations have been directed at high-profile crypto executives, including Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, whose likeness has been repeatedly used in fraudulent promotional schemes.
This method of attack highlights the expanding reliance on generative AI by cybercriminals in the advancement of crypto-related fraud. A recent report revealed that losses resulting from deepfake-based scams surpassed $200 million in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
As a result, it was advised by Nailwal that community members should refrain from installing unknown software during unsolicited engagements.
The importance of operational hygiene was also emphasized by him, with a recommendation for crypto users to keep wallet-signing tasks separate from regular device usage. It was further stated by him:
These attacks keep getting more and more sophisticated, so best approach is to keep a separate laptop for signing via your wallets only from that laptop and never do anything else on that wallet.
