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Monday, February 10, 2025

AI Powers the Latest Trends in Scams

 



One of the best ways to protect yourself from scams is to keep up to date on the latest AI-powered tactics. 


In 2025, AI will enable the delivery of personalized medicine, personalized music recommendations…and personalized scams. Thanks to AI, expect 2024’s most popular scam tactics to become more targeted and even harder to detect this year. The FBI recently issued a public service announcement warning the public that criminals are using AI to facilitate financial fraud. 
Here are trending tactics to expect from AI-powered scams these days, and how to protect yourself. 

Expect personal treatment. 
The content that would once have taken a team of criminals weeks to produce can now be created in minutes, thanks to AI. That means scammers have the capacity to develop a campaign that’s extremely specific to one person’s situation. They create entire websites or social media personas that appeal to a targeted individual’s sensibilities, using information gleaned from online research about their work, hobbies, political beliefs, location, and more. And scammers can now personalize conversations as they happen using chatbot technology. For example, in the past, a slow or strange text response might be a tip-off that you’re talking to a scammer. But now, AI chatbots can keep the conversation going with little effort on the part of the criminals. 

Expect scammers to impersonate people you know. 
One especially sinister personalized tactic, impersonation, is expected to increase this year. In its recent PSA, the FBI warns, “Criminals can use AI-generated audio to impersonate well-known, public figures or personal relations to elicit payments.” That’s scary, because it means that you might receive what you think is a call from a loved one, in their voice, from their number—when really it is a scammer using AI to impersonate their voice. The tactic, called vocal cloning, can also help criminals gain access to bank accounts over the phone.
To protect yourself, limit online access to videos with your voice, so criminals can’t steal it and create a vocal clone. Set your social media to the most private settings. The FBI also recommends creating a secret word or phrase to use with loved ones to verify their identity on phone calls, when there’s any inkling of doubt. For example, before agreeing to transfer money to a loved one for an urgent need like a car repair or bail, the protective tactic would be to ask them to say the secret word or phrase.  

Expect fewer phone calls, more text messages.
Between 2020 and 2023, the percentage of imposter scams initiated with a phone call fell from 67% to 32%. Instead of calling, scammers are now more likely to text you. The text might say that it is from your bank, insurance company, alma mater, or any other institution, asking you to take some action related to a shipment, invoice, donation, payment, or error message. Whatever the action is, the scammers’ goal is to steal your personal or financial information.
In addition to these imposter texts, expect to see more “wrong number” scam texts. These texts might say, “It was great to meet you yesterday!” or simply, “Hi! How are you?” The person receiving the text responds politely to say that the sender has the wrong number, and then the criminals begin a conversation in an attempt at a romance or employment scam. 
Keep in mind that while unusual grammar and word choice used to be a tip-off for scam activity, now AI text generators enable anyone to standardize their writing, and even adjust it to your local variety of English.   

Expect more fraudulent and imposter websites. 
This year, scammers are using AI to quickly create sleek, convincing-looking websites. Then, they use AI to create ads for those websites and post them on social media sites. When someone arrives at the fake site, criminals are ready to steal their money in a few different ways. 
Card-declined scams are on the rise, according to data from the Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker. When you go to purchase something from the fake website, you get a message saying your card’s been declined—when actually, the scammers have stolen the number and are running up charges. In a recent scam impersonating AAA, a fake website offered AAA members a free car safety kit for taking a survey, if they paid for shipping. When people tried to pay, their cards were “declined,” and the numbers stolen. 
Another reason scammers create fake websites is to trick shoppers into paying for a product that they then never receive. Or, perhaps they do receive what they ordered, except it is a knock-off version that looks nothing like the description of what they paid for. A new genre of YouTube and TikTok videos makes light of this scam; in the videos, people laughingly compare “What I ordered” vs. “What I got.” 
Avoid imposter and fake website scams by looking closely at the URL of websites before you order from them, to make sure you’re ordering from the store you think you are. Do some research before purchasing from new retailers. And use credit cards rather than debit cards when shopping online, since credit cards have stronger fraud protections. 

Expect more scammers offering you a job. 
Many people want to find side gigs they can work from home, and scammers know it. Employment scams are on the rise: these criminals are making money by stealing personal information and tricking people into purchasing fake certifications or equipment. Again, they’re using AI to create realistic-looking websites for fake or imposter companies—and to quickly craft text messages, emails, Facebook and LinkedIn messages that speak directly to individuals’ expertise. 
Avoid employment scams by declining to give your SSN or financial information during the application process. Legitimate companies won’t ask for this. And if the company seems desperate to hire or is offering a salary that seems too good to be true, those are red flags. If you’re not expecting to be recruited, or win a prize, or get a package, or be contacted by your boss on the weekend, these days, it is safer to assume any unsolicited contact is a scam. 
The risks of scams are ever-present for all Americans, but people of older generations may stand to lose more than most. While people over 60 report falling for scams less often than younger people, when they do, they lose substantially more money, according to the FTC. Stay aware of the new ways scammers approach their victims, and AI’s latest capabilities, and you’ll be doing your best to protect yourself and loved ones. 


This article is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial advice from a qualified financial advisor.




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