What are AI scams?

AI scams are cyberattacks that use artificial intelligence to trick people. They create emails, videos, voice messages, or websites that look, sound, and read like the real thing, making them far more convincing and harder to detect than traditional scams.

Which of the following BEST describes an AI scam?

AI scams use artificial intelligence to generate realistic voices, videos, and emails that trick people into believing they’re real.

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What is the primary goal of AI-powered scams?

AI scams aim to deceive victims by impersonating trusted individuals or organizations, ultimately tricking them into sharing sensitive information or handing over money.

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Abusing AI Technologies

AI is boosting productivity but also powering more convincing scams. From cloned voices to deepfake videos and hyper-realistic phishing emails, these attacks feel personal and authentic, blurring the line between real and fake. Let’s explore how some AI technologies are being abused.
AI can clone someone’s voice using just a short audio clip from social media, voicemails, or videos. With enough data, it can mimic tone, pitch, and style so closely that the fake voice sounds almost identical to the real person.
AI-generated deepfake videos make it look like someone said or did something they never did. Scammers use them to impersonate executives or public figures, tricking people into acting or believing false information.
AI-powered phishing emails are polished, well-written, and often tailored using information scraped from the internet. They can convincingly mimic communications from colleagues, banks, or service providers, making them far harder to spot than the typo-filled scams of the past.

Scammers often use voice cloning to:

Scammers use voice cloning to create convincing audio that mimics someone you trust, like a family member or colleague. By making urgent, emotional calls in that familiar voice, they can pressure you into acting quickly.

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Where do attackers often source audio for voice cloning scams?

Attackers don’t need much. Even a short clip from a podcast or YouTube video is enough for attackers to train AI and mimic someone’s voice.

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Which of the following is NOT a likely use of deepfake videos in a scam?

AI-generated CGI is common in entertainment, but it isn’t typically used for scams. The other options involve tricking people into taking harmful actions or believing false information.

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Is the following statement True or False:
Scammers can use AI to create phishing emails that look like they’re from your bank or a colleague.

AI can generate highly realistic emails that mimic the tone, style, and formatting of legitimate messages. By scraping information from social media or the web, scammers can personalize these emails to appear as if they’re from trusted sources like your bank or a colleague.

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How To Stay Protected

Scammers exploit urgency and trust. If something feels unusual, stop and confirm it through a trusted channel. Limit how much personal voice, video, and other data you share online to make AI scams harder to pull off.

Why is it important to limit what you share online?

The more personal content you post, especially voice recordings, videos, or photos, the more material scammers have to train AI tools to impersonate you. Limiting what you share makes it harder for criminals to create convincing voice clones, deepfakes, or other AI-powered scams.

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Wrapping Up

AI scams are getting more complex and harder to spot, particularly as voice cloning, deepfake, and real-time conversational AI technologies continue to improve. By knowing how to identify red flags, limiting what you share, and verifying unexpected requests, you can protect yourself and your organization!