Ethereum Scammers Use Fake AI Tutorials to Steal $517,000 as Fees Plummet

A recent Ethereum scam used fake AI arbitrage bot tutorials to trick users into deploying malicious smart contracts, resulting in losses of $517,000. The scam, which ran from February 12 to August 11, targeted 224 victims and was discovered by TRM Labs.

The scammers created nine YouTube videos that promised viewers could build a crypto arbitrage bot with Claude, a legitimate AI tool. However, the videos sent users to a compilation website controlled by the attackers, where they were tricked into deploying malicious contracts.

TRM Labs also found that the same scam used ChatGPT as bait in 2025, with the only difference being the brand name used. The scam relied on trust in familiar AI names and the assumption that an AI tool had already checked the code.

In other Ethereum news, transfer fees have dropped to below $0.10 due to increased network capacity. The average transfer fee fell from $0.715 on April 21 to $0.094 today, with softer mainnet demand and added capacity contributing to the decline.

Everstake believes that the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade could push Ethereum toward faster and more scalable infrastructure, making it more accessible to everyday users.