FBI Warning for Holiday Shoppers as AI Supercharges Schemes
Fake delivery texts. Bogus deals. An AI-generated voice begging for money.
These are just some of the scams the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning about with the holiday season underway.
In a bulletin, the FBI details some of the scams out there and precautions that Americans should be taking. And the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is only making the scams more believable.
"They can mimic voices, draft convincing texts and emails and push out thousands of targeted messages in seconds," said former FBI operative Eric O’Neill to Fox Business.
That was echoed by FBI leaders across the country.
“Remember the old adage, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is," said FBI Miami Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles. "Do your due diligence, make sure that great offer isn’t a scam."
Some of the more common scams include:
Non-delivery scams, where you pay for goods or services you find online, but you never receive your items
Non-payment scams, where you ship purchased goods or services, but you never receive payment for them
Auction fraud, where a product you purchase was misrepresented on an auction site
Gift card fraud, where a seller asks you to pay with a pre-paid card
Charity fraud, where a person seeks a donation for a charity that does little or no work, with the donation going to the fake charity’s creator
“Scammers often use compassion as a tool. By staying alert and verifying charities before we give, we safeguard our support for those who truly need it,” said FBI Birmingham Division Special Agent in Charge David R. Fitzgibbons.
According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center’s (IC3) 2024 report, non-payment and non-delivery scams cost people more than $785 million that year, with credit card fraud accounting for another $199 million in losses.
Protecting Yourself Online
When it comes to protecting yourself and your data, the FBI recommends that people practice “good cybersecurity hygiene.”
That entails not clicking on suspicious links, emails, or websites, checking websites to make sure they are legitimate and secure before clicking, and verifying the legitimacy of third-party sellers before buying on websites like Amazon and eBay.
And for payments, consumers are told to never wire money directly to a seller, do not use pre-paid gift cards online, and to check credit card statements regularly.
For shipping, consumers are told to get tracking numbers and watch out for suspicious texts on shipping timelines, which could take consumers to a fake address.
The FBI reminds consumers that if they have any doubt about whether a link or request is legitimate to call the FBI at 1800-CALL-FBI or report it at IC3.gov.