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AI scams and deepfakes

The oldest scams, like "Grandma, I'm in jail and need money," now come with a cloned voice or a fake video call. Here's what the FBI and FTC are seeing, and the simple habits that beat it.

Facts checked September 24, 2026

The numbers

$20.9Bin losses reported to the FBI in 2025, from more than 1 million complaints1
$7.7Bof that reported by people 60 and older1,2
$893Min losses from 22,364 complaints tied to AI, the first year the FBI counted them1

The Federal Trade Commission received 3 million fraud reports in 2025 with $15.9 billion in losses, up from over $12 billion the year before.3 People lost $3.5 billion to imposter scams alone.4

How criminals use AI

Cloned voices

The FBI warns that criminals generate short audio clips of a loved one's voice to impersonate a relative in a crisis and demand money or a ransom.5 The FTC says all a scammer needs is a short clip, which "he could get from content posted online," and a voice-cloning program.6

Fake video calls

Criminals generate video for real-time calls with people posing as company executives, police or other authority figures.5 In 2024, engineering firm Arup confirmed that "fake voices and images were used" in a scam in which a Hong Kong employee paid out about US$25.6 million after a video call with fake executives.7

Fake officials

Since 2025, the FBI has warned that criminals send AI-generated voice messages impersonating senior U.S. government officials to build trust, then use that trust to gain access to personal and official accounts.8

Fake IDs and photos

The FBI says criminals use AI to create fake driver's licenses and credentials, and realistic photos for fake social media profiles.5

Seven habits that stop it

  1. Pick a family secret word. The FBI's first recommendation: "Create a secret word or phrase with your family to verify their identity."5 If a panicked "grandson" calls and can't say it, hang up.
  2. Hang up and call back. Look up the number yourself and call the person, bank or agency directly.5 The FTC says to use "a phone number you know is theirs."6
  3. Treat urgency as a red flag. Requests for wire transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrency are classic scam signs.6 Never send money to someone you've only met online or by phone.5
  4. Look and listen closely. The FBI suggests watching for distorted hands or feet, odd faces or shadows in images and video, and unnatural tone or word choice on calls.5
  5. Post less of your voice and face. Make social media accounts private and limit who can see your photos, videos and voice.5
  6. Turn on two-step login. Use multi-factor authentication and never share a login code with anyone who contacts you.8
  7. Report it. To the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.5,4

hitechmike's take

Set up the secret word tonight. It takes two minutes at dinner, costs nothing, and beats the most convincing clone ever made. Include your parents. They're the ones most often targeted.

What the law says

AI robocalls, 2024

The FCC ruled unanimously in February 2024 that AI-generated voices count as "artificial" under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, making voice-cloned robocalls illegal without consent.9 It later fined the political consultant behind fake Joe Biden robocalls in New Hampshire $6 million, and the phone company that carried them agreed to pay $1 million.10 A New Hampshire jury later acquitted him on the state criminal charges.11

Deepfake intimate images, 2025

The TAKE IT DOWN Act, signed May 19, 2025, makes it a federal crime to publish intimate images without consent, including AI-made fakes. Websites and apps must remove reported images within 48 hours.12,13 FTC enforcement began May 19, 2026, and you can report sites that don't comply at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.14

Fake "AI" money-makers, 2024

In Operation AI Comply, the FTC went after five companies that used AI hype to deceive people, including "AI-powered" business schemes promising easy income. Then-Chair Lina Khan said: "Using AI tools to trick, mislead, or defraud people is illegal."15 In December 2025 the FTC set aside its order against one of the five, the AI writing tool Rytr.16

Impersonation, 2024

The FTC's rule against impersonating government agencies and businesses took effect April 1, 2024. It lets the FTC go to court to get money back for people who were scammed.17

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