ST. LOUIS – Scammers are increasingly using AI-generated voices, videos, emails and online profiles to make fraud schemes more realistic. The FBI reported more than 22,000 AI-related complaints nationwide last year, with financial losses approaching $900 million. Scammers can create convincing copies of voices with just seconds of audio posted online.
Investment scams accounted for the largest financial losses, but authorities indicate that family emergency scams are also becoming increasingly common. These schemes often involve victims receiving frantic phone calls claiming a child or relative has been injured, arrested or kidnapped, demanding immediate financial help.
Dr. David Utzke, a former U.S. Treasury cybercrimes technologist, highlighted how criminals operate within their networks. “Within the cyber criminal peer groups. They actually share list of individuals that they call the sucker list. They keep they just use them over and over and over again and that’s part of what doesn’t get detailed in that report. How many times is the same person been scammed,” Utzke said…