A guide to the latest scams in artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence has given scammers a powerful new toolkit, making fraud more sophisticated, scalable, and convincing than ever before. While AI has brought incredible advancements in fields like medicine, automation, and customer service, bad actors are now using the same technology to deceive and exploit unsuspecting victims.
In the past, scams often relied on poorly written phishing emails, obvious robocalls, and fake websites riddled with red flags. But now, AI can generate perfect, human-like conversations, manipulate voices in real-time, and even create realistic deepfake videos.
With children and young people more vulnerable than ever to the risks of AI and scammers, it’s important for parents to ensure they are aware and educated on the latest news and advancements in technology to keep kids safe.
What Makes AI-Powered Scams So Dangerous?
Unlike traditional scams, which often depend on social engineering tricks like urgency and fear, AI supercharges these techniques by adding:
- Hyper-Realism – AI can now mimic real voices, faces, and writing styles, making scams far more convincing than ever before.
- Scalability – A single scammer can now run hundreds of AI-powered scams at once, reaching millions of potential victims simultaneously.
- Adaptability – AI-powered chatbots and scam calls can adjust their responses in real time, making them harder to detect as fake.
Why Scammers Are Turning to AI
Scammers are always looking for easier, faster, and more effective ways to deceive victims. AI provides them with:
- Automation: AI chatbots and voice assistants can carry out scams 24/7, targeting thousands of people at once.
- Personalization: AI tools can scrape data from social media to create customized scams that feel eerily real.
- Low Effort, High Reward: Unlike traditional scams that required manual effort, AI can generate endless scam messages, phone calls, and deepfake videos in seconds.
As AI technology becomes cheaper and more accessible, scammers will only become more creative and aggressive in their tactics. That’s why awareness and vigilance are more critical than ever.
AI Voice Impersonation: When Scammers Steal Your Voice
One of the most chilling developments in AI-driven fraud is AI voice impersonation, also known as voice cloning. This isn’t a sci-fi horror plot—it’s happening right now, and victims are losing thousands of pounds to these high-tech scams.
How AI Voice Cloning Works
Step 1: Scammers Capture a Sample of Your Voice
Scammers only need a few seconds of someone’s voice to recreate it with AI. They often steal voice clips from:
- Social media videos (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube)
- Voicemail greetings
- Phone calls (previous scams or recorded messages)
- Public speeches or interviews
Step 2: AI Generates a Clone
Once they have a sample, scammers use AI voice synthesis tools (such as ElevenLabs, Resemble AI, or Deepgram) to recreate the person’s speech patterns, tone, and even emotional inflections.
Step 3: The Fake Call Happens
The scammer calls a victim, using the AI-generated voice to:
- Pretend to be a loved one in distress (“Mum, help me! I’ve been arrested!”)
- Act as a trusted authority figure (“This is your bank. We need to verify your account.”)
- Pressure the victim into sending money under the illusion of an emergency.
AI Scam Calls: The Next Generation of Fraudulent Phone Calls
For years, we’ve been warned about robocalls and phishing phone scams, but AI has taken them to a whole new level. AI-powered scam calls can now sound incredibly human, hold a real-time conversation, and dynamically respond to questions.
How AI Scam Calls Work
Step 1: AI Picks Its Target
Scammers use mass data leaks, hacked phone lists, or even social media to find potential victims.
Step 2: AI Spoofs a Trusted Caller ID
Using AI-powered spoofing, the scammer makes the call appear to come from a legitimate number—a bank, police department, or even a family member.
Step 3: AI Talks to the Victim
Instead of a pre-recorded message, these calls now feature AI-driven voices that:
- Respond in real time (no awkward delays like old robocalls)
- Mimic human emotions (calm, urgent, or even friendly)
- Adjust responses based on the conversation
Step 4: AI Scammers Extract Money or Personal Info
The AI scammer pushes the victim into making an immediate decision—sending money, revealing bank details, or confirming personal information.
AI Spoofing: When Scammers Fake Their Identity
Imagine getting a call from your bank, a family member, or even your boss—except it’s not really them. With AI-powered spoofing, scammers can manipulate caller IDs, emails, and even video calls to make their fraud look completely legitimate.
AI removes the traditional red flags we associate with scams. Instead of receiving a suspicious email from a strange address or an unfamiliar phone number, scammers can now perfectly mimic real contacts.
How AI Spoofing Works
Caller ID Spoofing
AI tools can mask a phone number to make it appear as if it’s coming from a legitimate company, friend, or family member.
Example: You get a call from what looks like your bank’s official number, but it’s actually a scammer asking for your details.
Email Spoofing
Scammers use AI to generate highly convincing phishing emails, making them almost indistinguishable from real company emails.
Example: You receive an email from what looks like Amazon, saying there’s an issue with your account. The design, tone, and logo all appear real, but clicking the link takes you to a scam website.
Deepfake Video Spoofing
AI can now create fake video calls where a scammer appears as an executive, a boss, or a family member.
Example: A finance worker at a multinational company received a deepfake video call from what looked like their CEO, instructing them to wire $25 million to a fake account.
One of the most viral AI scam stories in recent years involved an elderly woman who was duped by a deepfake of Hollywood star Brad Pitt. The woman, believing she was in an online relationship with the actor, was convinced by scammers using AI-generated images, messages, and even voice impersonations to send them thousands of dollars.
How to Recognize and Avoid AI Scams
As AI scams become more sophisticated, the best defense is awareness. While scammers are getting better at deception, there are still red flags that can help you spot and avoid these fraud attempts.
Here’s what to look out for, how to respond, and the best ways to protect yourself and your family.
Recognising the Red Flags of AI Scams
1.The Call or Message Feels Urgent and Emotional
AI scammers often create a sense of panic to make victims act quickly without thinking.
- Example: A fake AI voice of a loved one calling in distress, saying “Mum, I need help now!”
- What to do: Pause. Breathe. Verify before reacting.
- The Contact Asks for Money or Personal Details
Banks, police, and government agencies will never call to ask for personal details or money over the phone.
- Example: A scammer pretending to be your bank, claiming your account is compromised and asking for your login details.
- What to do: Hang up and call the company directly using a trusted number. Use a different device if possible.
- The Message is Unexpected
If you receive an email, call, or video message that seems out of the blue, be extra cautious.
- Example: An email claiming to be from Netflix or Amazon saying your account has been suspended.
- What to do: Don’t click any links. Go directly to the company’s website to check.
- The Voice or Video Feels “Almost” Real
AI can mimic voices, but sometimes there are odd pauses, slight robotic tones, or strange word choices.
- Example: A scammer pretending to be a friend but struggling to keep a natural-sounding conversation.
- What to do: Ask an unexpected question to test if they can respond naturally.
- Requests for Payment via Gift Cards, Crypto, or Wire Transfers
Scammers love untraceable payments because they can’t be refunded.
- Example: A scammer posing as tax authorities, demanding payment via Bitcoin or Apple gift cards.
- What to do: No legitimate organization will ask for payment this way. If they do, it’s a scam.
As AI scams become more advanced, staying vigilant and knowing how to respond is the best way to protect yourself. Here are key strategies to avoid falling victim:
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- Verify Before You Act – If you receive an urgent or distressing call, hang up and call the person or organization back using a trusted number. AI scams thrive on panic, so always pause, verify, and think before acting.
- Use a Safe Word System – Have a unique code word within your family that must be used in emergency calls. AI can clone voices, but it cannot guess your secret phrase.
- Let Unknown Calls Go to Voicemail – Many AI scam calls hang up if they reach voicemail instead of engaging in a conversation. If it is important, they will leave a message.
- Never Share Personal Information Over the Phone – Banks, police, and government agencies will never call you to ask for personal details, passwords, or payments. If in doubt, call them back using an official number.
- Be Mindful of What You Share Online – AI scammers steal voice samples from social media, voicemails, and videos to create convincing impersonations. Limit public voice recordings and avoid posting voice notes.
- Use Call-Blocking and Scam Detection Tools – Apps like Truecaller and Hiya help identify and block fraudulent calls before you even pick up.
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- Use Parental Controls – Monitor your family’s tech use and ensure they have maximum online privacy to keep them safe. Alongside tools, make digital literacy and awareness a priority in your parenting.
By staying informed and double-checking before acting, you can stay one step ahead of AI scammers and keep your personal and financial information safe.
