Polygon founder sounds alarm about his deepfake being used for scams

Sandeep Nailwal, the co-founder of Ethereum sidechain Polygon, has warned followers about scammers using his deepfakes. In a post on X, the crypto entrepreneur said the scammers had contacted various people and asked them to install a script.

According to Nailwal, scammers are using deepfake avatars of him and another Polygon executive to deceive crypto founders on video calls. He explained that the attackers breached the Telegram account of Polygon Ventures lead Shreyansh Singh and have been using it for the scam.

Through Singh’s account, they contacted all crypto founders and portfolio companies with whom Singh had previously communicated, asking them to reconnect and set up meetings via a Calendly link.

However, the scammers send a Zoom meeting link to potential victims, requiring them to join a video call that can only work on a desktop. Anyone who joins the call will find deepfake videos of Nailwal, Singh, and another woman purported to be a Polygon employee.

Interestingly, the audio is disabled on the call, and the scammers usually send a link asking the founders to install a software development kit (SDK) to enable voice. Nailwal noted that it is game over for anyone who installs the script, as it infects the user’s computer and allows the scammers to steal their assets.

Victims acknowledge the incident as deepfake concerns grow

Meanwhile, some crypto founders who joined the call have also raised alarms about the risks of deepfake calls. Rabble co-founder Prasad Kaavya noted the deepfake avatars of Nailwal and others on the call looked very real, and the only reason he was suspicious was that he did not expect the call to be a team call.

He added that he knew Nailwal personally and that the Polygon co-founder does not join any random Zoom calls. Thus, he immediately closed the call and sent a Google Meet link to the person, leading them to delete the chat and block him. He said:

“Here’s the scary part: If I wasn’t personally connected to these people, I might have trusted the deepfake.”

Powerloom protocol co-founder Swaroop Hedge also confirmed that they got a similar message from the scammer, but he quickly caught the scam and did not join the video call.

Meanwhile, several crypto entrepreneurs have confirmed this attack’s prevalence, highlighting scammers’ increasing use of AI tools and fake video calls in recent months. Deepfake impersonations have targeted major crypto stakeholders and celebrities and led to the loss of over $200 million in 2025 Q1 alone.

Nailwal advises crypto users on security

With the incident showing the significant risks that crypto users face, Nailwal has advised followers against installing anything on their device when someone else initiates an interaction. This appears to be the easiest way for scammers to access users’ devices.

According to security researcher Tayvano, several scammer groups on Telegram use this method, and one such group has made over $50 million. She explained that attackers try to inject malware into user devices to steal their private data, such as private keys, telegram messages, and browser data.

Meanwhile, Nailwal added that the best thing for users is to have separate laptops to manage their crypto wallets and sign in and not use the laptop for any other purpose.

He said:

“These attacks keep getting more and more sophisticated, so the 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.”

He also noted that it has been impossible to get Telegram to act on this issue, even though it is prevalent on social messaging platforms.

As for users who joined the video call with the scammers, many of them confirmed that they had already formatted their computers as a precaution. There has been no report of the scammers being able to steal anyone’s funds.

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