Surge in scams as fraudsters use AI to target people

Article excerpt

Fraudsters are weaponizing artificial intelligence to target victims with unprecedented sophistication, driving a sharp surge in scams across the UK. Nearly eight cases of money-theft fraud are reported every minute on average, according to recent data. Criminals now use AI-generated voice clips and deepfakes to impersonate trusted figures, bank officials, family members, government agents, making victims far more likely to hand over cash or personal information. The technology lets scammers operate at scale, personalizing pitches and social engineering attacks that older, low-tech fraud couldn't achieve. Law enforcement and banks scramble to keep pace with AI-enabled deception that exploits human psychology at machine speed.