The Scamdemic: New Age of Crypto, AI and Fraud:

A Scamdemic (https://www.unit21.ai/content/state-of-fraud-aml-research-report) is something we could have never imagined, but with the evolution of blockchain, crypto and AI we are right in the middle of the new age of fraud.

The best people to share what is at the heart of this systematic shift by criminals into the world of web3 are Caitlin Barnett (https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlin-barnett-0423b55/) (Director of Regulation & Compliance, Chainalysis (https://www.chainalysis.com/) ) and Trisha Kothari (https://www.linkedin.com/in/trishakothari/) (CEO & Founder, Unit21 (https://www.unit21.ai/) ).

Trisha shares her journey from a Google intern to leading a successful Regtech startup that is at the intersection of AI and fraud prevention.

The duo explore strategies from tech giants, the rise of AI in financial fraud and the increasing prevalence of scams in the crypto industry.

Trisha shares Unit21’s innovative approaches to data monitoring, fraud detection and leveraging AI to enhance compliance, while highlighting the challenges and innovations in fraud prevention and the focus on mission-driven solutions to combat financial crime.

Minute-by-minute episode breakdown

2 | Trisha’s early experimentation experience as an intern at Google 

4 | The current state of fraud and the acceleration of it using AI

6 | Fraud detection and prevention in crypto and financial sectors

11 | $25 Million deepfake scam on hedge fund using AI

14 | How AI is changing the future of fraud and compliance work 

17 | Traditional KYC is dead!

20 | Is 2025 the year of the SCAMDEMIC?

23 | Reducing false positives in fraud detection with AI

25 | Entrepreneurship, mission-driven work and building a team at Unit21

27 | AI integrations to combat elderly fraud

Related resources

Check out more resources provided by Chainalysis that perfectly complement this episode of the Public Key.

• Website: Unit21: The best place to build web3 products (https://www.unit21.ai/)

• Demo: Unit21 for Crypto and Web3 Companies (https://www.unit21.ai/markets/crypto-web3-platforms?utm_campaign=Podcast&utm_source=chainalysis%20podcast)

• Webinar: Automating L1 Reviews With Unit21’s AI Agent (Feb.12 – 1pm EST) (https://www.unit21.ai/webinars/automating-l1-reviews-with-unit21s-ai-agent?utm_campaign=7599876-FY25Q1%20-%20Webinar%20-%20L1%20AI%20Review&utm_source=chainalysis%20podcast)

• Report: Annual State of Fraud and AML Report (https://www.unit21.ai/content/state-of-fraud-aml-research-report?utm_campaign=FY24Q2%20-%20State%20of%20Fraud%20and%20AML%20Vol.%203&utm_source=chainalysis%20podcast)

• Blog: 35% Year-over-Year Decrease in Ransomware Payments, Less than Half of Recorded Incidents Resulted in Victim Payments (https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/crypto-crime-ransomware-victim-extortion-2025/)

• Blog: Chainalysis Launches Enhancements to Help Organizations Know Your VASP (https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/chainalysis-launches-enhancements-helping-organizations-know-your-vasp/)

• Report: The Chainalysis 2025 Crypto Crime Report (Reserve Your Copy Today) (https://go.chainalysis.com/2025-Crypto-Crime-Report.html)

• YouTube: Chainalysis YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/c/Chainalysis)

• Twitter: Chainalysis Twitter: Building trust in blockchain (https://twitter.com/chainalysis)

Speakers on today’s episode

• Caitlin Barnett (https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlin-barnett-0423b55/) *Host* (Director of Regulation & Compliance, Chainalysis (https://www.chainalysis.com/) )

• Trisha Kothari (https://www.linkedin.com/in/trishakothari/) (CEO & Founder, Unit21 (https://www.unit21.ai/) )

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