AI deepfakes are making government impersonation scams worse. Losses from these scams topped $400 mi

FBI: AI-Powered Government Impersonation Scams Surge—$400M Lost in 2024

AI isn't just helping coders—it's helping scammers. New FBI data shows government impersonation fraud is climbing fast as bad actors weaponize deepfakes, voice cloning, and generative AI. They scrape public audio and video to build convincing digital doubles, then auto-generate personalized scams at scale.

The stakes are real. In 2024, a deepfake video call tricked a Hong Kong employee of UK engineering firm Arup into wiring $25 million. During tax season, crooks pose as the IRS demanding urgent payment. Last year, the FBI's IC3 logged 17,000+ complaints and over $400 million in losses.

Experts say: if someone's demanding money now—especially via email or text—stop. Verify through official channels. Don't click the link.