What Are AI Scams?

How Do AI Scams Work?

AI scams can work in different ways depending on whether the criminals use AI to run an entire scam operation or alter an existing scam. The individual setup or scam isn't necessarily different from traditional scams. But, in general, AI poses a big threat because it changes the speed, scale and sophistication of scams.

Criminals who previously needed high-tech skills or to purchase software can now easily generate realistic content, personalize scams and conduct cyberattacks. And when they figure out what type of messaging or delivery works, they can quickly target thousands of people.

Experian's 2026 U.S. Identity and Fraud report found that most people have at least heard of AI-related scams, but awareness increases with income levels. For example, 95% of high-income earners have heard about AI-related scams compared to 73% of low-income earners.

Learn more: Who Gets Scammed the Most?

8 Common AI Scams

Many AI scams involve one or more of the following:

• AI-generated media and deepfakes: Scammers use AI to create fake audio, images or videos. They might be based on real people and things, or completely AI generated.
• AI-aided personalized scams: Scammers use AI to monitor, learn about and target individuals. They might use this information to determine who to target or to make their scams more believable.
• AI-aided cyberattacks: Scammers use AI to create and deliver malware or ransomwareand for other types of cyberattacks. They can also use it to test tactics and companies' defenses before targeting individuals.
• Agentic scam operations: Scammers create AI agents that do one or more of the above on its own.

Here are eight specific examples of AI scams that can incorporate one or more of these methodologies.

1. AI-Generated Voice Scams

Scammers might create an AI-generated voice and pretend to be someone with authority, such as a police officer, IRS agent or hiring manager at a desirable employer.

The AI voice alterations can help scammers hide their accents. Or, if the scammers set up an agentic system, the AI agent can run the scam on its own and even respond when victims ask questions.

Once the system is in place, the scammers might use the AI voice to "enhance" time-tested scams. For instance, the scammers might use AI when calling people and telling them that a relative is in jail and needs money for bail. Or, that the victim needs to pay for a background check or onboarding material for a new job.

2. Deepfake Voice Impersonation Scams

Scammers also clone celebrities' voices and then try to trick victims with robocalls. The cloned voice might ask you to donate to a worthy cause, recommend an investment or claim to be giving away money to a few lucky people.

Alternatively, scammers might target you directly by finding a video of a friend or relative on social media and cloning their voice. They might call you, pretend to be the person and say they need money to pay a ransom or bail. These types of scams are sometimes called grandparent scams because the scammers often target older victims and claim to be their grandchildren.

Many people are aware of AI-powered voice impersonation scams according to Experian's report. However, people are less aware of scammers who use AI to impersonate friends or family members.

3. Deepfake Video Scams

As AI-generated video improves, it gets harder to distinguish between genuine and fake content. Similar to the deepfake voice calls, scammers create video deepfakes of celebrities and news anchors to promote all sorts of scams.

The videos will often point viewers to a website where the scammer then tries to collect your personal information or trick you into buying or investing in a scam product. You could encounter this when a scammer emails or texts you a link, or the scammer might post the videos to social media.

4. Real-Time Deepfake Video Scams

Advanced deepfake video tools allow scammers to change their face and voice during live video calls. The technology has gotten so good that previous tells, like asking the person to wave their hand in front of their face to break the deepfake, no longer work reliably. The software creators may also offer to install and set up the system for a fee, which makes it easy for want-to-be scammers to get started.

Scammers can use these real-time deepfake tools to add realism to impersonation scams. They're also commonly part of romance scams, when the scammer spends months or years building a friendship or online romantic relationship. Once they have the victim's trust, they trick victims into sending them money or following "investment tips" that turn out to be part of a scam.

5. Deepfake Image Scams

Scammers also create AI-generated images to enhance their scams. They could use the images as part of an advertisement or post on social media and link to scam websites in the comments. There are also cases of criminals creating explicit deepfake images of people and then extorting victims.

6. AI-Generated Websites

Scammers use AI to create websites or apps that look legitimate but are designed to steal your information. For example, they might create a fake online store with popular items at a deeply discounted rate. Then, they steal your payment information when you check out and sell it or use it to make fraudulent purchases.

Or, they might create lookalike imitations of major online retailers or financial institutions. You might think you're logging in to your account, but you're actually sharing your username and password with the scammers.

7. AI-Enhanced Phishing Attacks

Phishing emails are emails that scammers send to try to trick you into downloading malware, sharing personal information or visiting one of their scam sites. The scammers often disguise or "spoof" their email to make it look like it's coming from a friend, family member, government agency or well-known company.

A long-standing best practice for detecting phishing emails was to look for unusual phrases and grammatical errors. However, AI-generated emails could be much more convincing. The scammers also might use AI to personalize the message based on information they find about you online.

Experian's report found phishing emails, messages and phone calls are one of the most commonly encountered scams. Fortunately, it also found that it's one that most people across all income levels are aware of already.

8. AI-Generated Listings

Scammers can also use AI to create images and descriptions for fake listings as part of an online marketplace scam. For example, they might list an in-demand item for sale and then ask you to pay a deposit to hold the item. Or, the listing could direct you to a different website that they use to steal your payment information. Scammers could also list apartments and homes as part of a rental property scam.

Learn more: Common Scams Targeting Children and Teens

Warning Signs of an AI Scam

AI tools change and improve so quickly that anything that might be a telltale sign that a scammer is using AI could be out of date within a few months. But some tells to look and listen for include:

• Out-of-sync video and audio during a video call
• Videos and images that look hyperrealistic
• Delays between your question and the other person's response
• Unusually good deals on a website or app you haven't heard of

Additionally, most AI scams are enhanced versions of traditional scams and the common warning signs are still important to remember. These include:

• A sense of urgency, fear or excitement: Most scammers try to create urgency and use fear or excitement to trick you into acting without thinking. For example, they might claim a loved one is in prison and you need to quickly send bail money to get them out. Or, that you've won a prize, but you need to pay for shipping within the next 15 minutes or you won't receive it.
• A request for upfront payment or specific payment types: Scammers come up with all sorts of excuses to ask you for money, and they often request payment types that are difficult to reverse: cryptocurrency, cash, gift cards and wires are common.

How to Protect Yourself From AI Scams

AI can make scams more convincing, but you can still put safeguards in place to keep yourself from getting scammed and keep scammers from doing too much damage.

• Be extra cautious. Deepfakes can look or sound real and familiar, and you'll want to keep your guard up whenever someone contacts you from an unfamiliar email account, phone number or social media profile.
• Don't act under pressure. Scammers will often try to make it feel like you need to act quickly. Take a deep breath. In most legitimate situations, it's OK to pause for a couple of hours or days before acting.
• Stop the exchange and directly contact the person or organization. Similarly, legitimate government agencies, companies and friends won't mind if you hang up and call back. If anything, you could pretend the phone or internet connection dropped. Look up the organization or person's contact information from a different source and then try to reconnect to see if it was actually them.
• Phone a friend. If something sounds too good to be true, call or text a trusted friend or family member. Ask them if this might be a scam. Sometimes talking through the details and getting a second opinion is enough to identify a scammer.
• Don't click on links. It's generally best to avoid clicking on links in emails, texts and social media comments or messages.
• Use reversible payment methods. If you send a scammer cash, a wire, crypto or a gift card, you might not be able to get your money back. However, some transactions, such as bank transfers, can be reversed if you act quickly. You also might be able to dispute credit card purchases if the seller turns out to be a scammer.
• Create a secret password or phrase. Use a secret password or phrase with your family members and friends to verify each other's identities. Don't discuss it via email (in case someone's email is compromised), and try to use something that a scammer won't be able to figure out with people search sites or reading social media posts.
• Update your account security. You might have heard this before, but it's now more important than ever: Create unique passwords for all your online accounts and enable multifactor authentication (MFA). This can help keep identity thieves and scammers who break into one of your accounts from logging in to other accounts.

What to Do if You're a Victim of an AI Scam

If you've fallen for a scam, the next steps could depend on the type of scam, but here are a few things you may want to do.

• Try to get your money back. If you sent a payment using an app, credit card or bank account, contact the company to see if you can stop or reverse the transaction.
• Report the scam to the FTC. File a report with the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) on ReportFraud.ftc.gov, which can help the FTC track trends in scams, warn others about scams and charge scammers with crimes. You can also file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
• Report the identity theft to the FTC. If the AI scam was after your identity rather than your money, you can report the identity theft on IdentityTheft.gov. The FTC will create a personalized recovery plan for you based on what happened.
• Protect your credit. Adding fraud alerts to credit reports, which you have a right to do, can tell companies that review the reports that you've been a victim of identity theft and that they should take extra steps to verify your identity. You also have the right to freeze your credit reports for free, which limits access to your credit reports and may keep someone from fraudulently opening a new credit account.
• Resecure your accounts. Even if you recently created unique passwords for your accounts, you may want to update your passwords again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Monitor Your Information for Signs of Fraud

Sometimes you'll know that you fell for a scam immediately. You send the person money and then they stop responding. Or you place an order and immediately your mind clears and you realize it really was too good to be true. However, some scams can play out over time, and the scammer might not use the information they stole right away.

Experian's free credit monitoring offers real-time notifications when there are important changes in your credit report, which could be a sign of identity theft. Or, you could try a paid premium membership for an identity theft protection service that may also warn you about signs of fraud related to your Social Security number or financial accounts. Paid memberships also include fraud resolution support services and identity theft insurance.