The European Union's crypto clean-up under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation has created an opening for fraudsters, according to regulators across the bloc.
When MiCA came into full force on July 1, more than 1,700 unlicensed crypto platforms were required to stop serving EU customers and direct them to licensed alternatives. At the time, only 323 companies held a valid MiCA authorization. That gap, during which up to 10 million users were told to move their digital assets, gave scammers an opening. The mechanism is straightforward: scammers copy the language of real migration notices, impersonate regulators, and push users toward fake platforms before victims realize the difference.
Social engineering scams were already a concern in 2025. Crypto exchange WhiteBIT found that nearly 41% of crypto incidents last year involved malicious actors deceiving victims through fake investment offers or impersonation. European regulators say they have seen an increase in crypto scams since the July 1 deadline.
Regulators report impersonation schemes
- France's Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) said scammers were posing as AMF employees, convincing victims to pay upfront administrative fees to recover stolen funds.
- The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) confirmed it was aware of criminals misusing its identity, name, and logo, including through falsified documents.
- The Netherlands' Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) said the migration of unregulated exchanges was itself the attack surface, urging investors to verify providers on the official ESMA register before transferring assets.
- Austria's Financial Market Authority warned retail users that hundreds of platforms lost legal status on July 1 and urged verification against official databases or transferring to self-hosted wallets.
- The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) told CoinDesk it logged 4,465 reports of fake FCA impersonations in the first half of 2025, with 480 victims tricked into handing over money.
