With fraudsters now testing the limits of artificial intelligence, it can be difficult to trust your own eyes and ears. Here’s what to prepare for in a new world of scams.
You know to be on the lookout for suspicious emails, even the ones that include crisp logos and official-looking addresses. You’re quick to scrutinize texts you aren’t expecting, even from contacts you recognize. And you’re skeptical when strangers reach out on social media.
But what happens when a scam comes from a voice you could swear is your child’s? From a face that belongs to your neighbor? Or with a raft of documents that seem unfakably official?
Imposter scams have been with us since time immemorial, evolving to adapt to societal shifts and advancing along with technology. But the brave new world of AI has given bad actors the means to execute these cons with greater realism and efficiency than ever.
It’s no wonder, then, that cybercrime is on the upswing. The Cybersecurity Attitudes and Behaviors Report 2021 – 2025 produced by the National Cybersecurity Alliance found that 44% of participants had been victims of cybercrimes in 2025 – a 10% increase over the five years of the study.
To help you be prepared for these increasingly sophisticated fraudsters, we explore the scams you already know and how AI is changing them.
The classic: Through a sudden string of urgent messages, typically via text, an imposter will pose as a close friend or family member in the midst of an emergency asking you to send critical funds via wire, cash app or gift card. These could also come in as calls from a third party trying to reach the victim on behalf of a relative.
The AI upgrade: Scammers can now create deep-fake videos or use voice cloning software and a sample of your loved one’s voice (think a quick video clip from TikTok or Instagram) to conduct entire conversations as that person.
The classic: An email or text will inform you of an issue related to your account with a major retailer, like Amazon, or another large-scale popular business, prompting you to provide additional information to complete a transaction or secure your account.
The AI upgrade: With generative AI to compose their communications, scammers are able to create more credible messages, free from spelling and grammatical errors that could once alert readers and tailored to the linguistic nuances of specific industries and countries.
The classic: An official purporting to be from a body like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the IRS, or from a local precinct or court system will contact you via phone or email regarding some kind of infraction that requires payment and may even send a representative to your home to collect.
The AI upgrade: Here, fraudsters will tap the design capabilities of generative AI to create hyper-realistic documents and images to be used for identification that will appear authentic, often even to the well-trained eye.
Even with the assist from AI, these scams still can and very often do fall apart if you don’t fall for them. Context is key, so if you aren’t expecting communications or something about the interaction seems suspicious or unusual, trust that instinct and report incidents to the proper businesses or authorities where possible.
To study up on more cyber-safety trends, visit the FTC’s scams page or our Technology & Innovation articles.
Sources: National Cybersecurity Alliance, FTC.gov, The Cybersecurity Attitudes and Behaviors Report 2021 – 2025
