AI Scam Awareness
AI has made scams faster to run and far more convincing — cloned voices, fake videos, and near-perfect phishing messages. This page is free for anyone to read and share.
Jump to the ChecklistWhy AI has changed the game
Scams used to be easier to spot: bad grammar, an obviously fake voice, a stranger's photo. AI tools now let scammers write flawless messages in seconds, clone a real person's voice from a few seconds of audio, and generate fake video calls. The old warning signs still matter, but they're no longer enough on their own.
Common AI-enabled scams
Voice cloning ("family emergency")
A cloned voice of a relative or boss calls in distress, urgently asking for money or gift cards. The voice can sound completely convincing.
Learn more →Deepfake video calls
A fabricated video of an executive or official asks an employee to urgently transfer funds or share credentials.
Learn more →AI-written phishing
Emails and texts with no typos or awkward phrasing, closely mimicking a real bank, vendor, or coworker.
Learn more →Fake AI investment bots
"Guaranteed returns" trading bots or crypto schemes that claim to use AI to beat the market.
Learn more →Fake job postings
AI-generated job ads and recruiter messages that lead to upfront "fees" or requests for personal/banking details.
Learn more →Romance & chatbot scams
AI chatbots sustain long, personalized conversations to build trust before asking for money.
Learn more →Fake customer support
Convincing fake "AI support agents" on lookalike websites or phone lines that harvest logins or payment details.
Learn more →Fake reviews & news
AI-generated reviews, testimonials, and fake news articles used to make a scam look legitimate.
Learn more →Red flags — regardless of how convincing it looks or sounds
- Urgency or pressure to act right now, before you can think or verify.
- Requests to pay by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency.
- Asks you to keep the request secret or bypass normal approval steps.
- Contact comes through an unexpected channel (a call, text, or DM out of nowhere).
- Any request to share a one-time passcode, password, or MFA code.
- Returns or income that sound too good to be true.
- You can't verify the person's identity through a separate, known channel.
How to protect yourself and your business
Verify on a second channel
If a call, email, or video seems urgent or unusual, hang up and contact the person directly using a number or address you already know — not one they gave you.
Learn more →Set a family/team code word
Agree on a word only real family members or staff would know, to use if someone claims to be them in an emergency.
Learn more →Never bypass MFA
No legitimate person or company will ever ask you to read them a one-time code.
Learn more →Slow down on urgency
Real emergencies rarely require an instant, unverifiable payment. Pressure is itself a warning sign.
Learn more →Verify companies independently
Look up a business or recruiter's official site and contact them directly, rather than trusting links or numbers in the message.
Learn more →Train your team
Make sure staff know these tactics exist and have a clear process for verifying unusual requests before acting.
Learn more →Printable scam-check checklist
Use this before acting on any unexpected request for money, credentials, or urgent action. Your browser's print/save-as-PDF option works well here.
If you think you've been targeted or scammed
Stop contact with the scammer, do not send further payment, and report it. In the United States: reportfraud.ftc.gov (Federal Trade Commission) and ic3.gov (FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center). Outside the US, report to your local consumer protection agency, police, or national cybercrime reporting center. If money was sent by bank transfer or card, also contact your bank or card issuer immediately.
Want this training for your team or school?
We run scam-awareness sessions alongside our business and student training.
Request a Session