Staying Informed About AI Scams

The sum of $40 billion is significant, right? This amount is projected to represent the annual losses that consumers and businesses may incur due to AI scams by 2027—a 50% increase in AI-related fraud compared to current levels. Let’s take a closer look at artificial intelligence and consider cautions that specialists raise.

What is AI?

AI, or artificial intelligence, is a computer science field that develops systems able to perform tasks needing human-like intelligence. It focuses on pattern recognition and autonomous action, powering technology like virtual assistants, navigation apps, chatbots, facial recognition, spam filters, self-driving cars, and content generation tools. Though largely beneficial, experts in the AI field warn that AI abuse can occur and cause harm. Cybercriminals now have access to AI and can use it to create human-like bots to generate fraudulent activity – such as impersonating people.

Deepfake scams – a growing threat

Deepfake is a type of artificial intelligence used to create realistic but entirely fabricated images, videos, or audio recordings. Experts recommend that people stay informed about AI scams, learn how these scams operate, and follow ways to stay protected.

How deepfakes work is best described in layman’s terms by the University of Virginia. Here’s their explanation:

A deepfake is an artificial image or video (a series of images) generated by a special kind of machine learning called “deep” learning (hence the name).

Deep learning is similar to any kind of machine learning, where an algorithm is fed examples and learns to produce output that resembles the examples it learned from. Humans learn the same way; a baby might try eating random objects, and it quickly discovers what’s edible and what isn’t.

As an analogy to machine learning and deepfakes, the objects laying around the house would be analogous to real images on the internet, and the baby’s ability to recognize an object as edible or inedible without trying to put it in their mouth after a couple of months is analogous to the algorithm’s ability to produce fake images that resemble real ones after training on the existing data.

A major takeaway is that this technology is complex and advanced. In fact, deepfakes can be carried out so well that in many cases humans cannot distinguish between what’s real and what’s not.

Example of a real business deepfake scam

In one case, a group of scammers used deepfake technology to trick a finance employee into paying them over $25 million of corporate funds. CNN describes the 2024 incident in which a finance worker at a multinational firm was tricked into paying a huge sum to fraudsters. The scammers used deepfake technology to pose as the company’s chief financial officer in a video conference call, according to Hong Kong police. The multi-person video conference call that was set up by scammers was a fake. The other people in attendance looked and sounded like his colleagues so the finance worker thought that everyone on the call was real. He ultimately remitted a total of $200 million Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to about $25.6 million in U.S. money, to the scammers. Per CNN, “Authorities across the world are growing increasingly concerned about the sophistication of deepfake technology and the nefarious uses it can be put to.” And it’s easy to see why.

Why use AI-generated content?

AI-generated content is common, especially on social media. People often use it for entertainment, making jokes about topics like UFOs landing or unusual animal behavior. Since this content looks convincing, it can be difficult to tell what’s real and what’s fake.

How to spot deepfakes

People can sometimes spot signs of deepfakes by noticing unnatural facial features or visual inconsistencies, such as odd blinking, extra fingers, or unclear backgrounds. Still, recognizing fake images or videos is becoming more difficult due to improved technology.

It’s not just businesses who should be worried

NBC10 Philadelphia explains that artificial intelligence has become more prominent in our everyday lives. They describe how advancing technology is posing a threat to regular people and their wallets. Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Eric Wong, focuses on safe AI, the field that makes AI beneficial and prevents the misuse of technology. He describes that progress in AI technology is astounding, particularly advances in audio and voice technology. AI videos may or may not look authentic. While trained individuals can likely tell that a video is not real, when it comes to audio, it is often challenging for experts to tell. Additionally, it’s very easy nowadays to mimic audio and voices.

NBC10 describes a recent Berkeley Study involving over 600 people. The study showed that more than 80% of the time, people were unable to distinguish real voices from AI voice copycats. In the NBC news report, Assistant Professor Wong went as far as demonstrating how voice cloning technology works. He downloaded voice cloning software off the internet for free and used 10 to 15 seconds of his own speech. He then typed out a phrase that he would never say and the AI model spit out the phrase by cloning his voice. These voice clones can even use pauses and breaths to mimic how people really speak – making it truly impossible to distinguish what’s fake from what’s real.

Best ways to stay protected

Voice cloning can be used by scammers – and this is becoming more common. For instance, in one type of scam, scammers call a potential victim and use a cloned voice of a family member. They pretend to be that relative in distress.

Scammers want the receivers of those calls to panic and act immediately to help their family members. But remember, the stories are not real as the voices are cloned.

Other scams may include cloning a celebrity voice and/or using their likeness to create a fake video. Always do your research to see what products celebrities legitimately support before making purchases based on audio or video recommendations.

It’s up to us to know the latest scams and pay attention to cues that calls are not legitimate.  

Basic ways to protect yourself from AI voice cloning calls include:

1. Establish consistent practice to not respond to calls from unfamiliar numbers. This is the single best way to protect yourself.
2. Keep your social media accounts private and limit who can see your content. Also, limit the use of your own voice online.
3. Despite being generally secure, voice biometric technology may possibly leave people vulnerable to voice theft. Some experts suggest avoiding voice biometrics by using PINs and other methods rather than voice verification for sensitive accounts. Regardless, always use multi-factor authentication to protect accounts.
4. If someone calls you and you recognize their voice, but their story sounds suspicious or you are being pressured in any way, it might be a scam. Hang up and call that person back on a known phone number you already have for them to verify it’s really them.
5. Experts say it’s a good idea for close family members to create a safe word that only they know and do not share with others. If you get a suspicious call from someone who sounds like that relative, but they don’t know the safe word, it indicates a scam.
6. Report all scams to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or to the proper authorities. Remember that reporting scams is the ultimate way to protect others and stop scammers.

In reality

Voice cloning is a real concern in 2026, as scammers use it to steal personal information and access accounts. Stay informed about AI scams and keep up with the latest tactics to protect yourself from voice cloning and other AI fraud.

Disclosure: This article is purely informational and is not intended as a substitute for professional advice.