A.I. Is Making Scams Hard to Spot. Here’s How to Protect Yourself.
A.I. Is Making Scams Hard to Spot. Here’s How to Protect Yourself.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/technology/personaltech/scams-ai.html
Publish Date: 2026-05-28 05:06:00
Source Domain: www.nytimes.com
- Shift in Scam Indicators: Traditional signs of internet scams like typos, thick accents, or blurry photos no longer effectively identify fraudulent activity due to advancements in generative artificial intelligence (A.I.).
- Convincing Fake Websites: A.I. tools allow criminals to easily create websites that appear legitimate, even mimicking well-known brands, leading to higher financial fraud losses.
- FBI Reports on A.I.-Enabled Scams: The FBI reported nearly $893 million in losses linked to A.I.-enabled scams out of the $21 billion defrauded by cybercriminals last year.
- Challenges in Scam Detection: Because A.I. makes it easy to create convincing replicas, experts urge a shift from looking for signs of fraud to verifying the legitimacy of a site or person.
- Meta’s Legal Complaints: Legal complaints have been filed against Meta for not effectively combating scam ads, citing numerous examples of fraudulent schemes still being active.
- A.I. Catfishing and Impersonation: Scammers are using A.I. tools to create lifelike video calls and voice replacements to impersonate people, including family members.
- Fake Celebrity Scams: A.I. deepfake technologies are being used to create videos of celebrities promoting fake products or schemes, deceiving people into sharing personal information.
- Cloned Brand Stores: Scammers are leveraging targeted advertisements on social media platforms to promote fake stores that copy the branding of legitimate companies.