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in Crypto Investment Scams
wsoctv.com
Over $1.03 trillion was lost to scams globally in 2024, with scammers increasingly using artificial intelligence, imposter tactics, and evolving technology to deceive victims. Key emerging threats include AI-powered phishing, deepfake videos, and voice cloning, alongside traditional imposter scams (including grandparent and romance scams) where median losses reached $800-$14,740 depending on the scam type. Scammers are shifting from phone calls to email and text messages as their primary contact method, making it essential for people to remain skeptical of unsolicited communications.
cbr.com
**Summary:**
Actor Dean Norris' X account was hacked by scammers who promoted a fraudulent memecoin called "$Dean" that reached a $7 million market value before crashing 90% when Norris revealed the scam. Norris clarified in videos and posts that he had no involvement in the cryptocurrency promotion and blamed his account compromise on hackers, while also criticizing online critics who had accused him of wrongdoing.
voanews.com
Scammers created a fake Russian-language transcript of a Tucker Carlson interview with Pavel Durov to promote a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme (ProTON-Invest) promising $13,000 monthly earnings, using a copied Voice of America article page to appear legitimate. The scheme purchased Facebook advertising through hacked accounts spanning the Philippines, Mexico, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, demonstrating how fraudsters exploit well-known media outlets and public figures to deceive potential investors. Neither Durov nor Carlson was involved in the scam, and Meta stated it takes action against fraud on its platforms.
dailyhodl.com
A 91-year-old Georgia man lost over $109,000 after a scammer posing as an old friend gained remote access to his computer and convinced him the scammer had accidentally sent him $100,000, leading him to wire cash to an unknown address in New York. The FBI reported that seniors lost $3.4 billion to scams in 2023, with hundreds of similar cases occurring across the country, including an 85-year-old woman who lost $1.4 million to fraudsters impersonating JPMorgan and the U.S. government, and a woman whose father was tricked into sending €7,000 through a "Hi
slguardian.org
Cryptocurrency scams targeting new investors are rising, including pump-and-dump schemes on meme coins, romance scams (causing $185 million in losses from 2021-2022), and fraudulent investment schemes promising unrealistic returns ($575 million in losses). Protection strategies include never sending crypto to strangers, verifying contact sources before engagement, and avoiding blackmail attempts, as cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible.
weku.org
Members of Versailles Presbyterian Church in central Kentucky received fraudulent emails impersonating interim Pastor Katherine Redmond requesting gift cards for hospice patients. The scam targeted church congregants' charitable impulses, but the pastor quickly alerted attendees to block the scammer's email address, and no victims were reported. The Better Business Bureau warned that gift card requests—particularly those claiming emergency situations—are a common scam tactic because gift cards are non-recoverable.
techradar.com
Sextortion scams are evolving to use personalized intimidation tactics, including victims' home addresses, phone numbers, and images of their neighborhoods in emails to create a false sense of immediate threat. Scammers now exploit invoicing platforms to bypass email security filters, claim devices are infected with malware like Pegasus, and demand cryptocurrency payments while threatening public humiliation or physical visits. Organizations and individuals can reduce vulnerability through robust email filtering and user education about these sophisticated social engineering tactics.
timesnownews.com
A 44-year-old woman in Hyderabad lost Rs 77 lakh of her family's life savings to a multi-stage crypto investment scam that began with a fake part-time job offer on Telegram in December 2024. The scammers built her trust through small initial payments, then lured her into a fraudulent "VIP programme" where a fake platform showed profit on her crypto investments while blocking her withdrawal attempts and continuously demanding larger deposits. The woman became suspicious only after repeated denials of access to profits and requests for additional fees and taxes, at which point she contacted police who are now investigating the case.
mothership.sg
Singaporean actor Laurence Pang, 78, lost S$36,000 (approximately 1.5 million Philippine pesos) to a romance scam involving a woman named "Mika" whom he met on the dating website Pinalove in late 2024. After being charmed by the woman and fake photos she sent, Pang was lured into a fake e-commerce and cryptocurrency investment scheme disguised as a Rakuten Global reseller opportunity, where he was unable to withdraw his invested funds due to fake orders that continuously prevented him from completing transactions.
kxxv.com
McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara warned the public about a surge in cryptocurrency scams where scammers contact victims via email or text with threats (such as bail money needed or arrest warrants) to pressure them into depositing money into crypto kiosks. Reported losses from these scams jumped dramatically from $32,033 in 2023 to $3.84 million in the following year, with victims losing entire life savings; one New Braunfels woman lost $111,000, though another victim recovered $15,000 after police obtained a search warrant. Authorities advise victims to contact law enforcement immediately and warn that elderly individuals are frequently targeted by these
aba.com
The American Bankers Association Foundation launched its 2025 financial education campaigns as part of a three-year commitment to reach five million Americans, celebrating the organization's 100th anniversary. The Foundation's four national initiatives—Teach Children to Save, Get Smart About Credit, Safe Banking for Seniors, and Lights, Camera, Save!—provide free resources to banks and their employees, with new content for 2025 including updated materials on fraud prevention, cryptocurrency investment scams, money mule scams, and check fraud. Since 2023, nearly 40,000 bank volunteers from 1,115 banks have reached 1.7 million people through these programs.
etedge-insights.com
A 60-year-old technology professional in Bengaluru lost ₹2.8 crore to a sophisticated "free gift" scam in which a fraudster posed as a bank representative and delivered a smartphone preloaded with malicious software and a cloning app. After the victim inserted his SIM card, scammers gained remote access to his device, altered his bank account's registered mobile number, and siphoned funds from his fixed deposits. The article advises protecting against such scams by verifying unsolicited offers through official channels, inspecting unexpected devices before use, enabling two-factor authentication, and remaining skeptical of offers that seem too good to be true.
substack.com
A Twitter/X account holder was compromised after falling for a phishing scam involving a fake copyright infringement notice email that mimicked official platform communications. The attacker gained access by trick the user into logging through a fraudulent form, then locked them out by adding themselves as a delegate account manager—a feature that persists even after password changes and two-factor authentication is disabled. The victim was unable to regain control despite attempting platform support, which provided only automated responses and could not resolve the issue due to the delegation exploit.
deccanchronicle.com
A retired government official in Hyderabad lost Rs 3.57 lakh after his Upstox trading account email was fraudulently changed and stocks were transferred without authorization, while a private employee lost Rs 17.48 lakh to an investment scam involving fake high-return schemes promoted via WhatsApp and Telegram between November 2024. The Rachakonda cybercrime police are investigating both cases to identify the perpetrators, with the second victim realizing the fraud only after being asked to pay additional taxes when requesting a refund.
secretservice.gov
Pig butchering is a billion-dollar cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme where scammers build trust with victims—often through fake romantic relationships on dating apps or unsolicited social media contact—and convince them to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency projects that promise high returns. Victims are gradually encouraged to transfer increasing amounts of money until they suffer financial ruin, with the scammer disappearing once substantial funds have been obtained. To protect yourself, avoid unsolicited investment advice from online contacts, verify investment legitimacy through regulatory authorities, never share personal financial information with people you haven't met in person, and be suspicious of projects with guaranteed high returns or romantic interests who refuse to meet in person or appear on video calls.
coinbase.com
Job scams have become increasingly sophisticated, with reported losses tripling between 2020 and 2023 to reach over $220 million in the first half of 2024. Common red flags include unsolicited job offers, requests for upfront payments, overpayment schemes involving fake checks, and cryptocurrency payment requests, with "task scams" accounting for nearly 40% of job scam reports in 2024. To protect yourself, verify employer credentials through official channels, avoid sharing sensitive information, use reputable job boards, and report suspicious activity to authorities like the FTC.
citybeat.com
Pamela Moore, a 66-year-old grandmother with no prior criminal record, was sentenced to 24 months in prison in August 2024 for money laundering related to online romance scams. Between 2020 and 2023, Moore's bank accounts received over $8 million in criminally derived funds from romance scammers nationwide, and she personally converted approximately $1.7 million to Bitcoin at the scammers' direction. Moore herself had initially lost six figures to the same scammers after becoming emotionally vulnerable following her husband's death in 2015, eventually being manipulated into laundering their illicit proceeds through a fraudulent shell company.
abc7news.com
A Walnut Creek senior was targeted in a "grandson scam" where a caller impersonating her grandson said he was in jail and needed $7,500 in bail money; she withdrew the cash and gave it to a courier at her gated community, then was asked for an additional $5,000. This was the second such incident at Rossmoor in four months, and bank employees attempted to intervene both times by questioning the large cash withdrawals. Walnut Creek police recommend verifying emergency calls with other family members and establishing a family password to prevent such fraud.
fosters.com
Hampton residents lost nearly $1 million to phone, email, text, and social media scams over 13 months, with many involving cryptocurrency, according to Hampton Police Chief Alex Reno—though he notes this represents only reported cases. One particularly devastating case involved a "pig butchering scheme" where a resident lost $480,000 after a scammer built trust through social media before introducing a fraudulent investment opportunity. The Hampton Police Department has become New Hampshire's first law enforcement agency to open a Coinbase account to potentially freeze and recover stolen cryptocurrency, and the chief urges residents to contact police before sending money rather than after they've been victimized.
states.aarp.org
Cryptocurrency ATM scams are rising, with criminals exploiting poorly regulated "crypto kiosks" to steal hundreds of millions of dollars annually by tricking victims into depositing cash via fraudulent QR codes. In 2023, the FBI recorded over 5,500 crypto kiosk complaints totaling $189 million in losses, with North Dakota alone losing more than $6 million. North Dakota House Bill 1447, which passed both chambers and awaits the governor's signature, would establish consumer protections including operator licensing, daily transaction limits, fraud warnings, fee disclosures, and transaction receipts to help prevent these crimes and aid law enforcement investigations.
pembinavalleyonline.com
The Winkler Police Report documented three fraud incidents during the holiday season: a male resident lost money to an online investment scam after downloading a fraudulent app and providing sensitive personal information; an elderly woman was targeted in a grandparent scam where a caller claimed to be her grandson needing bail money and fraudulently accessed her bank account; and another male victim sent multiple payments to a scammer posing as a lawyer who promised to recover funds from a fraudulently opened Bitcoin account. Police advised victims to report incidents to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, contact their banks, and protect their personal information to prevent further losses.
nzherald.co.nz
A 78-year-old Auckland man lost nearly $50,000 in a romance scam after being contacted by a woman who promised financial gains through cryptocurrency trading investments. The scammer built trust over six months through online messaging and occasional video calls, making false promises to visit and guaranteeing investment returns, before convincing the victim to transfer funds via crypto machines to evade bank detection. The victim made initial profits on a few trades but ultimately lost approximately $133,000 USD in a single failed transaction, with New Zealand authorities unable to recover the funds.
mondaq.com
Romance fraud—where scammers impersonate celebrities or create fake identities to build trust with victims before demanding money—is a rapidly growing crime, with the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau reporting 8,792 cases and losses exceeding £94.7 million in the past year. A notable case involved a 53-year-old French woman defrauded of £700,000 over 18 months by someone posing as Brad Pitt, with fraudsters typically spending about a year building trust before requesting funds through pretexts like medical emergencies or investment opportunities. Authorities note that romance fraud is heavily under-reported due to victim shame, though early reporting without alert
ccn.com
Memecoin farm scams exploit investor excitement and FOMO by using deceptive tactics such as fake success stories, inflated metrics, bogus celebrity endorsements, and rug pulls to attract victims into fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. Scammers target inexperienced investors through pressure tactics, fake private investment groups, and rebranded failed projects, often resulting in devastating financial losses. Users can protect themselves by recognizing warning signs including unrealistic profit promises, lack of security audits, opaque operations, and artificial urgency.
telegraph.co.uk
Wayne Westhead, 65, a former British Army soldier, was defrauded of over £100,000 through a cryptocurrency investment scam that falsely advertised Sir Rod Stewart's endorsement on Facebook. The scammers lured him in with small initial returns (£600 on his first investment) and gradually convinced him to invest larger sums, eventually promising him 50 Bitcoin through fake "hedge-funding" schemes worth approximately $400,000, though his money was never actually invested. The fraud exploited Westhead's financial vulnerability while caring for his wife during her cancer treatment.
thenationalnews.com
A 68-year-old man in Dubai lost Dh2,300 ($626) within minutes after clicking a phishing email impersonating Dewa (Dubai's utility authority) that promised a water bill refund. The scammer obtained his debit card details through the fraudulent link, and despite reporting the fraud to RAKBank and Mastercard, the victim was unable to recover the funds because he had authorized the transaction. The incident illustrates the growing sophistication of cyber fraud targeting UAE residents, with global online fraud expected to reach $13.82 trillion by 2028.
english.elpais.com
A Swedish man named Daniel lost €40,000 in a "pig butchering scam," a romance-based fraud scheme where a fake woman named Adele lured him into cryptocurrency investments through dating apps and WhatsApp. The scams, which generated $72 billion between 2020 and 2024, are operated from Southeast Asian compounds by crime syndicates with Chinese roots, where tens of thousands of trafficking victims—potentially 100,000 in Cambodia and 120,000 in Myanmar—are forced to impersonate romantic interests and financial advisors to defraud victims globally.
villages-news.com
This is a retrospective statement from Florida's Attorney General highlighting departmental accomplishments rather than reporting on a specific fraud case or scam. Key elder fraud prevention efforts mentioned include: strengthening consumer and elder protection laws, creating a Senior Protection Team, hosting training seminars on common scams, launching a Consumer Alert program, and distributing educational materials about fraud recognition. The statement also notes the creation of Florida's first Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit, which froze scammers' cryptocurrency accounts and secured millions in restitution for cybercrime victims.
thestar.com.my
Two senior citizens in Johor Baru lost approximately RM960,888 (nearly one million) to investment scams in late 2024 using identical methods: fraudulent mobile apps promising extraordinarily high returns. An 84-year-old businessman lost RM500,000 through the "DIGZAXXCE" app after joining a WhatsApp investment group offering 100% share returns, while a 61-year-old accountant lost RM460,888 through a fake Bitcoin platform called "PFOU" and app "UVKXE" that displayed phantom profits. Both victims discovered the fraud when attempting to withdraw funds or upon financial review, and authorities
tribuneonlineng.com
Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra received AI-generated voice messages mimicking a world leader requesting financial donations, with the scammer claiming her country was the only ASEAN nation that hadn't contributed. She became suspicious when the voice seemed artificial and the request escalated, highlighting the growing threat of AI-powered voice cloning technology being used in Southeast Asian scams, a region increasingly targeted by transnational cybercrime organizations.
iomtoday.co.im
An Isle of Man Bank customer lost nearly £200,000 after fraudsters impersonated the bank's fraud team and convinced the victim to purchase gold and send it via mail to London; the scam succeeded because it coincided with the customer's genuine card problems, making the call seem legitimate. The Cyber Security Centre's report for late 2024 also documented additional fraud cases including a £200,000 cryptocurrency scam, sextortion attempts, smishing schemes, and fake Facebook travel offers, with 2,721 suspicious emails reported to authorities and recommendations emphasizing independent verification and family communication about financial matters.
ladailypost.com
A 53-year-old French woman was defrauded of $850,000 by scammers posing as Brad Pitt using AI-generated images and videos to create a convincing fake romance from 2023 onwards. The scammers exploited her vulnerability as a cancer survivor and social media novice, fabricating stories about divorce proceedings and medical treatments to justify repeated money requests, and even created a fake AI newscast to counter her doubts. The article warns that AI-powered celebrity romance scams are increasingly effective and advises monitoring vulnerable relatives for warning signs such as online relationships with people who cannot meet in person or requests for money.
ein.az.gov
The FBI warned that scammers exploit disasters and mass casualty events—such as the New Orleans terrorist attack and Los Angeles wildfires—by impersonating charitable organizations and celebrities to solicit fraudulent donations, sometimes using AI to increase legitimacy. In 2024, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received over 4,500 complaints reporting approximately $96 million in losses to fraudulent charities, crowdfunding accounts, and disaster relief campaigns. The FBI advises verifying charity legitimacy through official registries, being suspicious of urgent payment requests from unknown individuals, and avoiding unsolicited communications claiming to represent disaster victims.
geaugamapleleaf.com
The Ohio Attorney General's Office provided guidance on recognizing common scams that disproportionately target seniors, who represent 15% of the population but account for more than 30% of reported fraud. Key red flags include requests for wire transfers, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or immediate payment; unsolicited calls creating urgency or fear (such as impersonating the IRS or Social Security); phishing for personal information; and contractor scams requiring large upfront payments. The office recommends verifying caller identity independently, remembering that scammers can spoof phone numbers, and following the principle that if something sounds too good to be true, it likely is.
infosecurity-magazine.com
Truth Social has become a hub for online scams including phishing, advance fee fraud, romance scams, and cryptocurrency investment fraud, with security researchers receiving over 30 scam messages within hours of creating a test account. A Central European threat actor alone distributed over 500 phishing messages impersonating brands like Netflix and Spotify to steal login credentials since March 2024, while the platform's large interest-based groups (some with 100,000+ members) enable scammers to target victims at scale with upfront payment requests ranging from $250 to $1,000. Social media scams broadly have generated $2.7 billion in reported losses since 2021, according to the
newsbreak.com
On January 15, 2025, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody held a Senior Scam Seminar attended by over 500 seniors in Marion County and released a new educational resource called "Scams at a Glance: Grandparent Grifts" to help seniors identify and report grandparent scams. Grandparent scams involve imposters posing as family members claiming to be in emergency situations to solicit money, with victims often unable to recover funds; the resource provides tips including verifying claims directly with family, avoiding wire transfers and gift cards, and contacting law enforcement if an in-person payment meeting is requested. Since 2019, Attorney General
kxxv.com
IRS tax debt scam calls are circulating in Central Texas, with scammers posing as IRS agents and requesting personal information, bank details, and payments via gift cards or cryptocurrency. Temple Police reported 142 scams since 2021 (62 in 2024 alone), and authorities warn residents to never provide personal information to callers, hang up suspicious calls, and contact agencies directly using official website contact information rather than numbers provided by callers. The legitimate IRS does not collect payments over the phone.
wrhi.com
**Summary:**
The IRS warns taxpayers to guard against evolving tax season scams including phishing emails, impersonation phone calls, identity theft, fake tax preparers, social media fraud, charity scams, and cryptocurrency schemes. Protection strategies include verifying IRS communications through official channels, protecting personal information, using legitimate tax professionals, and reporting suspicious activity to the IRS.
washingtonpost.com
Text message scams falsely claiming unpaid tolls have emerged as a new fraud tactic that employs techniques designed to bypass phone security measures. These scams use fake toll notices to trick recipients into clicking malicious links or revealing personal information. The fraudsters continue to evolve their methods to circumvent anti-scam technology on mobile devices.
thestar.com.my
Authorities warn that scammers use multiple tactics year-round to defraud victims, including "pig butchering" investment scams where perpetrators gain trust before stealing money (with one recent case involving a 66-year-old who lost $170,000 to a fake Facebook investment banker), AI-generated travel scams that have increased 500-900% and use fake websites and phishing, and utility scams where fraudsters impersonate companies like PG&E to demand immediate payment, causing customers over $334,000 in losses in 2024 alone. Experts recommend verifying suspicious offers directly with companies, avoiding clicking unknown links, paying attention to detail inconsistencies
dailydodge.com
Wisconsin's Division of Trade and Consumer Protection reports an increase in impersonation scams where callers spoof law enforcement phone numbers to pressure victims into immediate payments for alleged crimes, missed jury duty, or unpaid fines. The scammers may call multiple times from different numbers and request cash, gift cards, or cryptocurrency—forms of payment that legitimate law enforcement never demands. Consumers should hang up on suspicious calls and independently verify by contacting the agency directly using a verified phone number.
goldrushcam.com
The Kern County Sheriff's Office warned residents of a phone scam in which callers impersonate law enforcement (claiming to be "Sergeant Youngblood") and demand electronic payments via gift cards or bitcoin to resolve alleged warrants, missed court appearances, or jury duty violations, threatening arrest if payment is not made. The scammers use spoofing technology to display the Sheriff's Office callback number and may pressure victims to visit the Sheriff's Office afterward. The Sheriff's Office clarified that legitimate law enforcement never requests payment over the phone and that warrant arrests are made in person, not via phone calls.
tuko.co.ke
Kenya's Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act of 2018 addresses five types of online scams: investment scams (fake high-return schemes), phishing emails (impersonating legitimate entities), online romance scams (fraudsters building trust to solicit money), fake e-commerce deals, and SIM swap fraud (unauthorized mobile number takeovers). Authorities emphasize that while legal protections exist, vigilance through verification of legitimacy, strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and immediate reporting to the DCI Cybercrime Unit remain essential defenses against increasingly sophisticated cybercriminals targeting Kenyans.
dailyexcelsior.com
**Article:** Rahul Dogra - 2025 Cyber Scams in India
This article outlines emerging sophisticated scams in India driven by AI and deepfake technology, including KYC/bank scams where fraudsters impersonate officials to steal sensitive information, job fraud schemes demanding upfront fees for non-existent positions, and digital arrest scams using intimidation tactics to extort settlement payments. Additional scams target elderly individuals through medical emergencies and fake insurance, electricity bill scams threatening service disconnection, and romance scams, with prevention advice emphasizing direct verification with official sources, avoidance of unsolicited links, and independent research before sharing personal
whec.com
The New York State Attorney General's Office is pursuing legal action against scammers who sent text messages to job seekers offering fake remote work positions as a front to steal cryptocurrency. The scheme defrauded New Yorkers into purchasing Stablecoins under the false promise of compensation for reviewing products on fake websites, with one victim losing over $100,000; authorities have frozen $2.2 million in cryptocurrency and are seeking to recover funds and impose penalties on the perpetrators.
theglobeandmail.com
In June 2021, a Toronto woman lost approximately $355,000 in a romance fraud scheme after being befriended on Facebook by a man posing as "Moshe Theodor McNigh" who convinced her to invest in bitcoin through a fraudulent website; the scammer was later identified as Nigerian national Omonkhoa Precious Afure and arrested by Nigerian authorities, resulting in the recovery of $225,000 in December 2021. Romance fraud represents the second-highest-grossing scam type in Canada with $37.2 million in reported losses as of September 2024, characterized by perpetrators grooming vulnerable victims over weeks or months, building trust, an
kdhlradio.com
Scam attempts in Minnesota and globally are escalating, with over $1.03 trillion lost to scammers in 2024, increasingly aided by artificial intelligence that generates convincing phishing emails, fake images, and cloned voices. High-risk scams include imposter schemes (grandparent and romance scams with median losses of $800), government imposter scams ($14,000+ median loss), cryptocurrency scams, employment scams, and task scams (which increased from 5,000 reports in 2023 to 20,000 in the first half of 2024). Scammers exploit recent disasters and events while using AI to intensify existing frau
ottawa.citynews.ca
Ontario Provincial Police reported that scammers in the east region are using multiple fraud schemes, including a recent case where a business employee was manipulated into withdrawing cash and depositing it into a Bitcoin machine in Peterborough. The top scams targeting the region include cryptocurrency investment fraud ("get rich quick" schemes), bank investigator fraud, romance scams, and identity theft/phishing attacks, with Canadians losing an estimated $638 million to fraud in 2024, though actual losses are likely much higher due to significant underreporting.
therakyatpost.com
Between 2020 and 2024, Malaysians lost RM11.23 billion to scams, with cases increasing 53.2% from 27,323 to 41,701 annually, according to Malaysia's Commercial Crime Investigation Department. Phone scams were the most prevalent fraud type with 14,684 cases in the last year, followed by e-commerce scams (7,662 cases) and fake investment schemes (6,337 cases). In response, authorities prosecuted 40.3% of cases and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission blocked 3.1 billion suspected scam calls as of December 2024.
forbes.com
Scammers are exploiting generosity during the California Wildfires (which began January 7th and displaced 200,000 people with $135 billion in damages) by posing as legitimate charities and FEMA officials to steal donations and charge fees for disaster assistance. Fraudsters use techniques including caller ID spoofing, AI-generated content, deepfakes, and fake charity websites to appear legitimate, making it difficult for donors to verify authenticity through phone, email, text, or social media contact. To protect themselves, donors should verify charities through Charity Navigator before giving, never provide payment information to unsolicited contacts, and avoid charities that use more than 25