Mass. — Artificial intelligence is helping scammers increase the speed and reach of their attacks.
According to data from the Federal Trade Commission, consumers lost more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, up 25% from the previous year. Data for 2025 is expected soon.
Security experts say artificial intelligence is making fraud more efficient by allowing scammers to automate outreach and create convincing deepfake videos or voice clones. These tools are increasingly used to imitate trusted individuals and legitimate organizations to steal personal and financial information.
One emerging area for these AI-driven attacks involves employment scams. Kida CEO Ron Kerbs, whose company works to prevent AI-driven fraud, says scammers are using the technology to pose as hiring professionals.
“Some of them are AI bots... making you believe that you’re talking with a legitimate recruiter, with a legitimate company, even going through a hiring process,” Kerbs says. “Then stealing... your bank details via HR forms.”
These scams can also lead to direct attacks on financial accounts. Ashwin Raghu, director of financial threats at Citi, said many banks’ firewalls are under constant pressure from hackers trying to access consumer accounts.
“It happens literally millions of times a day,” Raghu said. “We have tools that monitor this. And it is absolutely nonstop.”
Kerbs and Raghu say scams reports are growing as fraudsters learn how to harness artificial intelligence to automate their enterprises and expand their reach.
“Now that you can create an army of AI bots, they can connect immediately with thousands, sometimes millions of people all at the same time,” Kerbs said.
The impact of fraud varies across age groups, according to the FTC. While more younger people reported being scammed than older individuals in 2024, the financial consequences were more severe for the elderly. Older victims reported higher individual financial losses despite falling for scams less frequently than younger consumers.
Experts emphasize that a healthy sense of skepticism is the primary line of defense against these evolving threats. If you receive an unexpected call, text or video meeting, or something about your conversation feels off with the person on the other end, security professionals recommend hanging up and verifying the contact through a separate, known communication channel.
“It’s basically a game,” Kerbs said. “As those tools get better, the scammers get better. And so the best way to do that is to initiate and verify via other communication.”
If personal or financial information is shared with a scammer, Raghu said it is critical to act fast. Banks can often secure accounts and mitigate damage if they are notified quickly. He noted that security measures are usually most effective if implemented within the first hour of the information being compromised.
Raghu also encourages scam victims to report their experiences and speak openly about what happened to help identify new AI tactics.
“Share that story, tell people what happens,” Raghu said. “It’s likely to happen to the next person unless you do that.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW