Scammers Have AI Now — So Yeah, We're All in Trouble
A Personal Take by Peter T. Masters
Remember when scam emails used to be obvious? "Greetings, dear sir, I am a Nigerian
prince…" and you would laugh, delete, and move on with your life. Those were the good
old days. Now? Scammers have AI — and they've leveled up in a way that should
have all of us paying attention.
Today's scams don't come with broken English or weird formatting. They come with
perfectly crafted messages, cloned voices, and even fake videos. And the worst part?
They're personalized. Thanks to artificial intelligence, scammers don't just guess
anymore. They know — or at least they sound like they do.
AI Is the New Weapon of Choice
Scammers are no longer just sitting in a room cold-calling people. They're using AI
tools that mimic human behavior with scary accuracy.
Let's start with voice cloning. With just a few seconds of audio, AI can now replicate
someone's voice. That means your "daughter" can call you crying for help — but
it's not really her. Or your "boss" can ask you to wire some money urgently. The voice
sounds legit. The urgency feels real. And that's how people are getting tricked.
Then there's deepfakes — AI-generated video and audio that looks like a real
person talking. A recent scam involved a company executive receiving a Zoom call from
what looked like their CFO, asking for funds to be transferred for a fake deal.
They sent over $200,000 before realizing it wasn't real.
And don't forget AI chatbots. Scammers now use ChatGPT-style tools to write messages
that sound exactly like you would expect from a real person. These bots can hold a
convincing conversation over text or email, making it harder to spot a scam even for
the tech-savvy.
Why These Scams Work So Well
Old scams relied on desperation and fear. New scams? They use trust and personalization.
AI lets scammers mimic people we know and trust. They can scrape your public social
media posts, figure out who your family is, learn how you speak, and then come after
you using that exact voice, tone, and information. This makes the scams emotionally
manipulative — and harder to ignore.
They're also scalable. One person can launch thousands of AI-driven scams at once. They
don't have to write each message. The AI does it for them, learning and adapting as it
goes. So while you're sleeping, they're scheming — and AI is doing all the heavy
lifting.
Real-World Examples (That’ll Keep You Up at Night)
The CEO Scam: A few years ago, a UK-based company sent $243,000 to a "vendor" after
their CEO appeared to send a voicemail confirming the transaction. Turns out, it was
an AI-generated voice.
The Kid-in-Trouble Scam: A mom received a call from what sounded like her teenage
daughter, crying and saying she was kidnapped. The voice begged her not to call the
police and to send ransom money. It wasn't her daughter — it was AI.
The Grandparent Deepfake Call: In March 2023, an elderly couple in Houston, Texas,
was scammed out of $6,000 by fraudsters impersonating their grandson. The scammers
claimed he had been jailed following a car accident and urgently needed bail money. The
couple believed the voice on the phone was truly their grandson. Shockingly, the scammers
came to the couple's home to collect the cash in person—and even had the audacity to
return later the same day asking for more money.
How You Can Protect Yourself
Okay, breathe. It's not all doom and gloom. The best defense is staying aware and prepared.
Here's how:
-
Always double-check: If you get a weird request from someone you know, call
them back on a trusted number or ask a question only they would know.
-
Establish a family "safe word": Something only your family would know,
so if there's ever a call or message claiming to be a loved one, you can verify.
-
Beware of urgency: Scammers pressure you to act now. If someone demands
action without time to think, that's a red flag.
-
Limit what you share online: The less personal info scammers can find, the
harder it is for AI to convincingly imitate you or your loved ones.
-
Use multi-factor authentication: This won't stop voice scams, but it helps
prevent account takeovers from phishing or email scams.
-
Talk to your family: Especially your kids and elderly parents. They are often
the easiest targets.
Final Thoughts
We're living in a world where the line between real and fake is getting blurred more
and more by the day. The rise of AI means scammers are smarter, faster, and more
believable than ever. But that doesn't mean we're helpless.
Talk about it. Share this post. Help others understand
what's happening out there. Because the more we know, the harder we are to fool.
Awareness is your superpower. Scammers are getting smarter, but so can you. If you’re a small
business owner and want to make sure your systems and data are protected, let’s chat.
Contact us
to schedule a free
15-minute consultation. And hey—share this post with someone you care
about. It might just save them from falling for the next AI-powered scam.
Scammers may have AI — but we've got each other.
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