Check 1 of 5
Agree a family safe word and ask for it in any urgent call
A cloned voice can sound real, but a scammer won't know your secret word or phrase.
FBI IC3, Criminals Use Generative Artificial Intelligence to Facilitate Financial FraudScam Check
Is this real or fake?
Five checks before you act
0 of 5 doneScammers rush you. These checks slow things down, and they work even when the fake looks and sounds perfect.
Check 2 of 5
Hang up and call back on a number you already know
A cloned voice can sound just like your relative. Calling a number you know reaches the real person.
FTC, Scammers use AI to enhance their family emergency schemesCheck 3 of 5
Never pay by gift card, crypto, wire transfer or payment app when someone insists
The FTC says never pay someone who insists you pay with crypto, a wire transfer service, a payment app or a gift card.
FTC, How To Avoid a ScamCheck 4 of 5
Check the sender, phone number and web address letter by letter
Scammers use names, numbers, emails and links that differ only slightly from the real ones.
FBI IC3, Senior US Officials Impersonated in Malicious Messaging CampaignCheck 5 of 5
Pause and tell someone you trust before you pay
Scammers rush you. Honest organisations give you time to decide, and talking it over helps you spot a scam.
FTC, How To Avoid a ScamWhat is going around
6 scams- Voice-cloned family emergency callParents and grandparents
- Deepfake celebrity investment adsSocial media users looking to grow their savings
- Deepfake boss on a call or video meetingFinance staff and anyone who can make company payments
- AI-written phishing messagesEveryone with email, a phone or social media
- Fake AI apps and AI tool websitesPeople curious to try new AI tools
- Deepfake nude images for sextortionChildren and teens, and also adults
The AI scams that official agencies warn about most. The FBI counts a complaint as AI-related only when the victim mentions AI, so its numbers are likely too low.
Back to the scams
Voice-cloned family emergency call
A caller sounds exactly like your child or grandchild in trouble, such as a crash or arrest, and begs for money fast. AI copies the voice from a short clip posted online.
Targets: Parents and grandparents. People over 60 report the biggest fraud losses to the FBI.
What to doDon't trust the voice. Hang up and call the person back on a number you know, or ask for your family safe word. Never pay by wire, gift card or crypto.
- In 2025, US victims reported over $5 million lost to 'distress' scams that use voice cloning to mimic a loved one.FBI IC3, 2025 Internet Crime Report, 2026
- Impostor scams were the most-reported US fraud in 2025: over 1 million reports and over $3.5 billion lost (all impostor types, not only AI).FTC, FTC testifies to Joint Economic Committee on efforts to combat fraud, 2026
Deepfake celebrity investment ads
Ads and videos on social media show a famous person or CEO, faked with AI, praising an investment or 'investment club'. Victims are led to fake investment websites and chats.
Targets: Social media users looking to grow their savings.
What to doTreat any celebrity investment ad as fake. Never send money or crypto to someone you know only online. Talk to someone you trust before you invest.
- US losses in investment complaints that mention AI passed $632 million in 2025. Scammers use AI videos and voices of celebrities, CEOs or trusted figures.FBI IC3, 2025 Internet Crime Report, 2026
- Europol says crypto investment fraud now largely happens on very large online platforms, where criminal networks use ads to reach victims at scale.Europol, IOCTA 2026: The evolving threat landscape, 2026
Deepfake boss on a call or video meeting
Staff get a message, call or video meeting where a 'boss', faked with AI voice or video, asks for an urgent, secret transfer of company money.
Targets: Finance staff and anyone who can make company payments.
What to doCheck every payment request through a channel you already know, such as calling the person back. Be wary of urgency and secrecy. If money left, call your bank and the police at once.
- US businesses reported over $30 million lost in 2025 to business email compromise involving AI, including cloned voices asking for wire payments.FBI IC3, 2025 Internet Crime Report, 2026
- Singapore warned of Zoom calls where scammers, likely using deepfakes of company executives, told staff to transfer large sums from company accounts.Singapore Police Force, MAS and CSA, Joint Advisory on Scams Involving Digital Manipulation, 2025
AI-written phishing messages
Emails, texts and chats written with AI look fluent and personal, without spelling mistakes. They pose as your bank, a company or the police and push you to click, pay or share codes.
Targets: Everyone with email, a phone or social media.
What to doDon't click links in unexpected messages. Go to the company's website or app yourself. Never share passwords or one-time codes.
- Europol says generative AI lets fraudsters personalise scams and impersonate bank helpdesks or police, making them more convincing.Europol, IOCTA 2026: The evolving threat landscape, 2026
- The FBI warns criminals use AI to write messages faster, remove spelling and grammar errors, and create fake social media profiles.FBI IC3, Criminals Use Generative Artificial Intelligence to Facilitate Financial Fraud, 2024
Fake AI apps and AI tool websites
Ads promote 'free' AI video or chat tools. The fake site hands you a download that looks like a video but installs malware that steals passwords, card details and accounts.
Targets: People curious to try new AI tools.
What to doUse AI tools only from the maker's real website or official app store. Check the web address carefully. Don't open a 'video' download that arrives as a ZIP file.
- Google's Mandiant found over 30 fake AI video-generator sites spread by Facebook and LinkedIn ads. Sampled ads reached over 2.3 million EU users. The malware stole logins, cookies and card data.Google Cloud (Mandiant), Text-to-Malware: How Cybercriminals Weaponize Fake AI-Themed Websites, 2025
- The FBI warns criminals embed AI chatbots in fraudulent websites to lure victims into clicking malicious links.FBI IC3, Criminals Use Generative Artificial Intelligence to Facilitate Financial Fraud, 2024
Deepfake nude images for sextortion
Criminals take ordinary photos from social media and use AI to make fake nude images. They threaten to share them unless the victim pays or sends real images.
Targets: Children and teens, and also adults.
What to doDon't pay and don't send more images. Keep the evidence. Report to police (in the US: IC3 or NCMEC). Use NCMEC's free Take It Down tool for images of under-18s. Be wary of companies that charge to remove images.
- The FBI warns criminals use AI to create fake explicit photos of victims and demand payment in sextortion schemes.FBI IC3, Criminals Use Generative Artificial Intelligence to Facilitate Financial Fraud, 2024
- NCMEC received over 50,000 reports of financially motivated sextortion in 2025, about 137 a day, up from over 36,000 in 2024.NCMEC, NCMEC releases new sextortion data, 2026
- The FTC warns that some companies charge sextortion victims for help they don't deliver. US platforms must remove intimate images within 48 hours of a request, for free.FTC, How to avoid deceptive sextortion assistance services and find real help, 2026
Where to report it
First, anywhere: your bank or payment provider, at once. If you sent money: ask them to stop or reverse it. For gift cards, crypto or payment apps, contact the issuer, exchange or app immediately. What to do
In United States
- FTC ReportFraudAny scam, including AI voice-clone and impostor scams.
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)Online and cyber-enabled fraud, deepfake scams and sextortion. Include names, numbers, payment details and how contact started.
- NCMEC CyberTipline, or call 1-800-THE-LOSTSextortion or sexual images of anyone under 18, real or AI-made.
- FTC Take It Down Act reportingA platform that fails to remove your intimate images, including AI fakes, within 48 hours of a valid request.
In United Kingdom
- Report Fraud (replaced Action Fraud on 4 Dec 2025), 0300 123 2040. In Scotland: Police Scotland on 101.Fraud and cyber crime.
- Forward scam texts to 7726 and scam emails to report@phishing.gov.ukSuspicious texts, calls and emails, even if you lost nothing.
In European Union
- Your national police or its online reporting site (Europol lists them by country)Cybercrime and online fraud. Where no online option exists, go to a local police station.
In Germany
- Onlinewache (online police station) of your federal state, or any police station. In an emergency call 110.Criminal complaints such as fraud, including online scams.
In France
- THESEE online complaint (Interior Ministry)Adult victims of online scams, such as fake shopping sites, hacked email accounts or money demanded to unlock a computer. Fake investment scams must be reported in person at police or gendarmerie.
- 17Cyber (Police, Gendarmerie and Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr)Free online diagnosis and advice for cyber attacks such as phishing or hacking, with links to report or file a complaint.
- PharosReporting illegal online content, such as harm to minors, violence or hate.
In Austria
- Any police station (Polizeidienststelle)A formal criminal complaint if you were harmed, including online fraud.
- Meldestelle für Internetkriminalität (Federal Criminal Police Office): against-cybercrime@bmi.gv.atTips about suspected internet crime. Formal complaints are not possible here.
In Hungary
- Police (Rendőrség): call 112 and file a report as soon as possible, after contacting your bankOnline fraud and card or account abuse.
- National Cyber Security Institute (NBSZ NKI) incident form; anonymous reports allowedCyber security incidents and vulnerabilities. Anyone can report.
- Victim Support Line 116-006 (free, day and night)Free legal information and support for victims. The Victim Support Centres help without a police report.
Reporting helps the police and other people, even when your money cannot be recovered.