Common AI-Generated Scams

With the ubiquity of AI tools, the potential to generate content for scams, fraud, blackmail and non-consensual intimate imagery is limitless, and continually evolving. “Many tools are free or low-cost, require no technical expertise, and can be used anonymously,” according to the 2026 International AI Safety Report. At this time, the report’s authors observe, “data on their prevalence and severity remains limited.”

Some of the most common – and egregious – AI scams include confidence or romance scams, in which victims are tricked into thinking they’re interacting with people they know; banking and investment scams that lure consumers into providing funds or personal account details; sextortion, in which teenagers’ and young adults’ images are pulled from social media sites for malicious purposes; and employment scams, which involve fake job postings, and even deepfake interviews.

Anyone could be the target for such scams, but they usually follow demographic lines, hitting different people in different ways. Seniors and individuals living alone are vulnerable to confidence and investment scams, teenagers and young adults are targeted for sextortion scams, and middle-aged adults are likely to be targeted for credential harvesting, invoice fraud and phishing schemes. The method of which scams are sent may also be important to note. Some scams are through phone calls, email or text message.

1. Confidence or Romance Scams

In a confidence or romance scam, scammers develop fake personas, often employing voice cloning tied to profiles and scripts to sound like a realistic call from a loved one or acquaintance. The voice at the other end of a call may mimic distress, appealing for immediate financial help.

In one reported incident in 2023, a mother “picked up the phone in 2023 and heard her 15-year-old daughter sobbing while a man demanded ransom,” Lee related. “AI voice clone, built from seconds of social media audio. Her daughter was safe on a ski trip.”

While such calls may be stressful, deliberate verification is the best tool to prevent such scams from going any further.

“Verify the caller through a different channel or caller specific questioning,” said Murat Kantarcioglu professor of computer science at Virginia Tech. “Ask a question that only the real person would be able to answer, or ask them to send the same information by text message or another trusted method.”

2. Banking and Investment Scams

Consumers are increasingly receiving calls from their banks, often spoofed phone numbers to make the calls look like they’re coming from banks. With AI, scammers are capable of crafting “near-perfect messages to deceive consumers into clicking malicious links or sharing sensitive information,” said Darius Kingsley, head of consumer fraud and scam prevention at Chase. “Unsolicited ‘wrong-number’ messages that sound innocent are usually not, and are designed to get you to reply and start a conversation.”

Another financial scam, called “pig butchering,” lures victims into investing in fake trading or cryptocurrency opportunities. “What makes these scams particularly dangerous is how they unfold,” said Dany Naigeboren, senior director of risk at Forter. “Victims are initially drawn into what feels like a genuine relationship, often initiated through a simple text message. Popular AI tools have made it much easier for fraudsters to scale this approach, as they can produce friendly, conversational and highly convincing dialogue that follows proven scripts, building trust over time before introducing the financial scam.”

To avoid such scams, contact the financial institution immediately via phone, and change your passwords. Regularly review your financial statements and transaction history.

3. PDF Scams

Even the ubiquitous PDF documents we rely on are not immune from AI-driven fraud. PDF-based documents are being employed to deliver fake forms and statements that capture personal information from official-looking documents.

PDF scams often consist of “free PDF editors or tax form fillers you find online,” said Shlomi Beer, co-founder and CEO at ImpersonAlly. “You upload a document, the tool works, but it’s quietly logging every sensitive field in the background. For example, a user will upload a document to a PDF editor, the tool will enable him to edit, but in the same time, log all the personal information of that user. Then that personal information is used in emails or phone calls, but now those have a lot of real personal information which makes them very realistic. We saw this blow up during tax season, with foreign entities using that data to fuel hyper-personalized scams that are basically impossible to spot.”

Avoid these scams by not opening documents from people or sources you do not recognize. Check the URLs of the sources of these documents. Check, by separate channel such as phone, to authenticate the validity of any documents you receive.

4. Employment Scams

With most job-hunting and interviewing online, the job application process is another area of interaction that has become ripe for AI scams.

Scammers post legitimate-looking job ads. In some cases, such as through LinkedIn scams, scammers may directly message job seekers, posing as a recruiter or hiring manager.

Job candidates may be subject to deepfake video interviews with cloned images and voices of company executives. Worse yet, candidates may be offered a job, with the requirement they invest in tools or equipment, or link to the scammers’ tools, which then steals data and credentials.

“In these attacks, criminals use deepfake voice, video and AI-generated communications to impersonate hiring managers from well-known companies,” said Dor Eisner, CEO and cofounder at Guardz. “Victims may go through multiple rounds of interviews, receive convincing contracts and be promised life-changing job opportunities. Over time, attackers build trust and ultimately persuade victims to share sensitive personal or payment information, or even purchase items such as airline tickets with the promise of reimbursement.”

To verify the authenticity of a job opportunity, a job candidate needs to seek out a live interaction with a person with the company in question before proceeding. Here, as well, the adage “too good to be true” applies, an offer of very high compensation for just a few hours’ work may be a sign of a scam. AI employment scammers may also request sensitive personal information or even money before they make an offer.

5. E-commerce-Site Scams

AI scammers are employing fake but realistic-looking e-commerce websites to lure consumers and their money. Making a purchase may involve paying through a fake bank website, which then steals credit or bank card details. There may even be responsive chatbots to help finalize the erroneous purchase.

In e-commerce-site scams, also known as triangulation fraud, “fraud rings can now use AI to rapidly build convincing storefronts, polished product listings and credible brand-like marketing,” said Arjun Kakkar, chief product officer at Signifyd. Kakkar explains how it works: a real shopper places an order on the fake site, and the fraudster uses stolen payment credentials to buy the item from a legitimate merchant and ship it to that shopper. As a result, the merchant can be left with the fraud loss, the shopper becomes the victim of stolen credentials and the brand’s reputation can be harmed.

Brian Cute, president and chief executive officer of the Global Cyber Alliance recommends checking links before clicking to make sure shoppers do not visit scam e-commerce sites.

What To Do If You’ve Fallen For An AI Scam

Falling for an AI scam is not only distressing in terms of potential financial losses, but also may bring about a sense of shame or embarrassment. As noted above, even the most adept cybersecurity specialists have fallen for such scams, which AI makes realistic.

“We’re entering a moment where you simply can’t rely on your instincts about what looks or sounds real anymore,” said Betsy Cooper, director of the Aspen Policy Academy. “Deepfakes and AI-generated scams are designed to be convincing, and they’re only getting better. We’re never going to be able to detect fakes perfectly — so we need to change how we respond when something unexpected shows up.”

The following are key steps one should take in the event they recognize or suspect they are scammed:

• Stop all communication. “Scammers rely on urgency, so your best line of defense is to slow down, don’t send money, and verify through a trusted channel,” said Kingsley.
• Move fast. “The same AI that made the scam convincing makes the money disappear quickly,” said Lee. “Call your bank and request a wire recall if transfers were involved, because that window is hours, not days. Credit card disputes give you more time but don’t sit on it.”
• Change passwords. “On every account that was discussed or accessed during the scam, turn on multi-factor authentication everywhere, and if you shared personal information, freeze your credit with all three bureaus immediately,” said Lee. “Don’t wait to see if something happens. Something will. It just takes a few weeks to show up.”
• Document everything. “Save screenshots, phone numbers and messages from your interactions with the scammer,” said Kingsley. “These can help your bank and investigators.”

How Can You Avoid AI Scams?

Avoiding AI scams requires constant diligence, and independent verification – for contacts with whom you are unfamiliar, put trust aside. Even for contacts with whom you are familiar, stick to the adage of “trust, but verify.”

“Avoid interacting with people you do not know in real life or have not met in person before,” said Kantarcioglu. “Do not click links in unsolicited messages.”

While experts agree there are no magical apps or services that ensure complete protection from AI scams, relying on tried-and-true cybersecurity measures will go a long way.

“There is no consumer app that reliably detects deepfakes in real-time,” said Lee. “What’s worth your time is password managers, because credential reuse is still how most account compromises cascade. Multi-factor authentication apps, not SMS-based, since SIM-swapping is a real problem. The built-in call screening on iOS and Android has gotten legitimately better at filtering high-volume scam calls, so turn it on if you haven’t.”

The basics still matter. “Using multi-factor authentication, strong and unique passwords, and keeping your software up to date won’t prevent every scam, but it limits the damage if something does slip through,” said Cooper. “In a world with advanced AI, good habits are one of the most reliable defenses we have.”

AI technology has made it easier to steal money and personal information from anyone at any time. Staying informed, mindful and deliberate is the best way to fight AI scams that may come your way.

“Most successful attacks are still the simplest ones: phishing, extortion and social engineering,” said Mike Gray, chief technology officer at Thrive. “The most common AI scams still rely on familiar techniques that continue to work because they exploit human behavior. Those methods still deliver results, and AI has only made them faster, cheaper and easier to scale.”