Surprising requests for money, strange messages about insurance, sudden demands for a password reset… Is someone trying to scam you?

Scams are like a virtual Big Bad Wolf – they may look innocent at first but they’re disguising something; especially those powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) which can make them more believable and far-reaching than ever before.

In this Data Detox guide, we’ll look at some popular types of scams that are supercharged by AI and will outline actionable steps anyone can take right now to become more cautious in face of this virtual ‘Big Bad Wolf’.

Into the woods we go!

Spot the scams

Scams have been around since the beginning of time. But new AI-powered tools are supercharging them by making them even easier, cheaper, and faster to carry out.

Tip: Spot the scams. Scammers use similar timeless methods to try to get your money, your possessions, and/or your information. Learn about a few types of online scams that have been especially present in recent years.

Click or tap on the cards below to read further information:

Learn more about these popular types of scams: (1) “How to spot, avoid, and report imposter scams”, (2) “Investment scams”, (3) “Social media: a golden goose for scammers”, (4) “How to recognize and avoid phishing scams”.

Once you know how the most common scams look or sound, you may be able to spot one before you fall for it.

Don’t let them faze you

You might be especially vulnerable to AI-powered online scams if you feel rushed or under pressure. Imagine these scenarios:

• You have a new job and receive an email from what appears to be your boss asking for a password or to urgently pay an invoice.
• Someone on social media or a chat app that appears to be your daughter is claiming there was an accident and you need to send money to a new bank account immediately.
• You’re desperate for cash so you sign up for an investment to get money fast.

Reflection activity: Think about the scenarios in your life that would make you feel most vulnerable to giving in to pressure. Figuring this out can help you devise strategies in advance that can help you when you encounter a potential scam.

Tip: Step back and create distance. Online scammers don't only distort time by creating urgency, they also play on your emotions. This pressures you to give out information before you’ve had the chance to think about it. So find barriers to put up in order to slow you down.

Try saying: "Sorry, I’m in the middle of something right now, can you give me your contact details and I'll call you right back?" Then ask yourself critical questions about the interaction and search online to try and answer them.

For example: If you get a call claiming to be from an online shop, a phone number should be printed on the shop’s official website, so you can call that hotline and ask. Don’t rely on caller ID, as scammers can easily change that to disguise their identity.

While some studies suggest that young people or older adults are targeted by scams most often, no one is immune to getting scammed. There is no character flaw or single common mistake for those falling prey to scammers, and even experts can get hit. With that said, you can still take measures to practice mindfulness to reduce the damage done by the scam.

Tip: Just breathe. Anytime you find yourself feeling stressed or rushed, set your phone face-down and do a 5-second breathing exercise. Take two short inhales through your nose and one long exhale out of your mouth, with your lips pursed together as if you’re blowing through a straw. It may not sound like much, but this simple breath can be enough to reduce your stress in the moment – which might clear your mind a little bit.

Scammers typically ask for something from you – whether it’s scanning a QR code, visiting a web link, or answering questions. Even seemingly harmless information you give away as a result could be used in ways you least expect. What does your gut tell you about this request? Why the sudden rush?

Big eyes, big ears, and big teeth – but a weak backbone

With the accessibility of AI-powered tools, convincing scams are becoming very easy to create and roll-out on a large scale, targeting unsuspecting people with scams ranging from fake celebrity endorsements to false ‘romance’ to full-on sextortion. It might feel difficult to keep up on the latest scams but understanding the basics of how technology is being used for scams (generally speaking) can help you see the bigger picture.

Tip: Learn about how AI supercharges scams. You can start by knowing which methods and tools are used and how:

• It sounds so believable: Free or paid voice-cloning software can be trained on a short audio clip of someone’s voice, producing audio that sounds almost exactly like that person.
• It looks so real: Free or paid deepfake video software can produce realistic-seeming videos just from pictures and videos of a person’s face. The more pictures and videos that are fed into the software, the more accurate and believable the outcome. You can even write a script of what you want the AI-generated ‘person’ to say in the video.
• It feels so personal: Free or paid text-generation software can produce messages that are very targeted and specific towards individuals, based on personal data about them. The more data available (for example from Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, or even data that came out of a breach), the more accurate and tailored the messages.

AI-supercharged scams are not just a fairy tale. Numerous real-life experiences have been documented and shared. You can read a few of them here:

Read more about these AI-powered examples: (1) “Voice cloning: how your voice could be used against you”, (2) “Fake Joe Biden robocall urges New Hampshire voters not to vote in Tuesday’s Democratic primary”, (3) “FBI: scammers using public photos, videos for deepfake extortion schemes”, (4) “4chan daily challenge sparked deluge of explicit AI Taylor Swift images”, (5) “Scientists are falling victim to deepfake AI video scams — here’s how to fight back”, (6) “This ‘Russian woman’ loves China. Too bad she’s a deepfake”, (7) “AI will increase the quantity–and quality–of phishing scams”, (8) “Email Scams in 2024: Phishing, Quishing, Generative AI, and More”.

As you can see, AI can make scams way more personal, believable, and faster than ever before. Notice when something seems too good to be true, or a bit off, and try to verify the information you’ve received before you act on it.

Try it: Any time you’re sent a web address (also known as a ‘URL’), take a moment to inspect it before you click. Does anything about it look unusual to you? Here are a few simple clues to look out for:

• Numbers used instead of letters: Does it really say ‘Google’, or does it say ‘G00gle’? In the latter, the letter “o” has been replaced with the number “0” (zero).
• Unique endings: If your bank usually ends in .com but you got a web address that ends in .co, it might be a hint that something is off. Websites can have many endings such as .com, .org, .io, .co.uk, .me, .co, .security, .finance, to name a few, and these may vary greatly across different regions of the world. As a general rule, before clicking on any variations, run a quick search for the official website directly from your browser.
• Tiny web address: You might see a strange-looking web address and this could be either legitimate or used to conceal a scam. A URL shortener can obscure the real link you’re going to. You can use the opposite of URL shorteners, called URL expanders, such as URLEX, to see the full web address before clicking on it.

If it’s a hyperlinked text, the actual web address may be hidden and requires some careful steps to look at it without clicking on it by accident. Check out “To Click or Not to Click?” to learn more about how to ‘read’ a tricky web address.

You are not alone

The steps you can take against getting scammed can be low-tech, for example keeping a keen eye and a steady breath. But it’s also important to seek support from others.

Tip: Establish a trusted circle. One of the most devastating aspects of a scam can be the feelings of shame that victims feel afterward, which can lead to social isolation.

Connect with trusted people in your life to open the line of communication before a scam happens to you. This support network can also be a big help for your family and friends.

You can learn from one another’s experiences, share news, and support one another when something goes wrong. The next time you feel stressed out by a random message, you could call someone from your trusted circle for advice.

Check out the Digital Enquirer Kit to learn how to verify information online, and answer questions such as “how can I know who to trust online?”

Written by Safa Ghnaim in Summer 2024. Thanks to Christy Lange and Louise Hisayasu for their edits, comments, and reviews.

This guide was developed by Tactical Tech in collaboration with Goethe-Institut Brazil.