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Artificial Intelligence and Scams

Artificial Intelligence and Scams

Large Language Models (LLMs) are a recent innovation in artificial intelligence technology that allow computers to respond to questions in a human like manner.

Rapid advances in AI technology, such as Chat GPT, have caught the world by storm. These new developments enable you to have a convincing chat with a computer, ask a computer to paint a painting, or even create videos and mimic real human voices.

Unfortunately, it did not take scammers long to recognize the technology’s potential to turbocharge their scams. For instance, scammers can use AI to create deepfake audio and video clips to trick us. Using AI technology, scammers collect audio data, maybe from your latest Instagram post, to clone your voice. The imposter will then call, possibly spoofing the number of a loved one on your caller ID. They may claim to be in serious trouble and beg the relative to send money. Hearing a loved one’s voice and seeing their phone number on your caller ID is convincing and motivates us to respond to the request.

Protect Yourself from a Potential Voice Cloning Scam:

  • Create a phrase that only your family knows to verify a loved one’s identity when something doesn’t feel right on a phone call. Don’t rely on caller ID. Scammers can clone sim cards to mimic a loved one’s phone number.
  • If something feels off, hang up. Call the person using a number you know to be theirs.
  • Be suspicious if a family member says that you need to pay using cryptocurrency to either get them out of trouble or pay for medical bills.

Learn to Recognize the Ingredients of a Scam.

  • Pressure to act immediately.
  • Use of scare tactics or enticing offers.
  • An offer that is too good to be true.
  • Demands for money, typically in an unusual form like wire transfer, gift card, pay app, or cryptocurrency.
  • Requests for sensitive or personal information.

See Recognizing a Scam for More Information.

Reporting or Responding to a Scam

If you believe you have fallen for a scam and have paid out money, take steps immediately to minimize any damage. If you paid by:

  • Credit or Debit Card – Contact the company or bank that issued the card and report the fraudulent charge.
  • Bank Transfer – Inform your bank of an unauthorized debit or withdrawal; ask to stop or reverse the wire transfer.
  • Gift Card – Contact the company that issued the gift card and report fraud. Typically, these transactions are not traceable or reversible.
  • Payment App – Report the transaction to the company behind the app. These apps require you to link them to a credit or debit card. Report the transaction to the fraud department for that card. Pay apps are not regulated and many do not offer transfer protections. You may be forced to rely on the goodwill of the recipient to return the funds.
  • Cryptocurrency – These transactions typically are not reversible, and it falls on the person who received the funds to return them.
  • Money Transmitter – If you used a money transmitter, such as Western Union, contact the company to see about canceling the money transfer.

You can also file a report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 877-382-4357 as well as local law enforcement.

Report Fraud

If you believe you have been the victim of a scam or would like to file a consumer complaint, contact the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Team at:

Consumer Protection Team
P.O. Box 30213
Lansing, MI 48909
517-335-7599
Fax: 517-241-3771
Toll-free: 877-765-8388
Online complaint form