Fraud is a tale as old as time, fueled by enduring human traits like greed and trust. What constantly evolves are the tools of the trade. Scammers are master adapters, leveraging whatever technologies or trends dominate the cultural moment to exploit the vulnerable and uninformed. In 2025, their arsenal is more powerful than ever, built on a trifecta of artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies, and vast troves of stolen personal data.
Their tactics, however, still prey on the same core human emotions: a sense of duty (to a boss or company), fear (for a loved one in danger), and hope (for a lucrative investment or job). Today’s technology simply makes these fraudulent appeals terrifyingly convincing.
The New Face of Fraud: AI-Powered Scams and Deepfakes
Artificial intelligence has democratized deception. The same tools businesses use for marketing and support are being weaponized by criminals to create near-perfect replicas of reality.
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Voice and Video Cloning: With just a few seconds of audio from a social media video, scammers can clone a person’s voice. They use it to make urgent calls, impersonating a CEO to demand an immediate wire transfer from a subordinate or a family member in “distress” begging for bail money. The line between real and synthetic has blurred beyond recognition for most. In 2024, over 105,000 deepfake attacks were recorded in the U.S., leading to losses exceeding $200 million in just the first quarter of 2025.
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Personalized Phishing at Scale: Gone are the days of poorly written “Nigerian Prince” emails. AI now enables scammers to generate highly personalized and grammatically flawless emails, texts, and social media messages. They can mimic the tone and style of a colleague, your bank, or a delivery service, making the lure to click a malicious link or download malware-infected software incredibly effective.
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Emotional Manipulation: These are not just cold financial crimes. Elderly victims are particularly targeted by “grandparent scams,” where an AI-generated voice identical to their grandchild pleads for help after a fake accident or arrest, creating a panic that overrides skepticism.
The Digital Gold Rush: Cryptocurrency Scams
Cryptocurrency’s promise of decentralization and anonymity is a double-edged sword, creating a fertile ground for fraud that is fast and largely irreversible.
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Pig Butchering (“Sha Zhu Pan”): This long-con scam combines romance and investment fraud. Scammers, often operating from fraudulent call centers, build a trusting relationship with victims over weeks or months on dating apps or social media. They gradually introduce the idea of a “can’t-miss” crypto investment, guiding the victim to a sophisticated but entirely fake trading platform. Victims see fake returns and are encouraged to invest more, until the scammers “slaughter the pig” and disappear with everything.
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Pump-and-Dump Schemes: Coordinated groups use Telegram channels and social media to create artificial hype around a worthless, low-volume cryptocurrency. They promise massive returns to lure in investors, causing the price to pump. At the peak, the orchestrators dump their holdings, crashing the price and leaving victims with worthless tokens.
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The Crypto Demand: AI-powered impersonation scams increasingly end with a demand for payment in crypto. Scammers direct victims to Bitcoin ATMs to pay for fictitious fines, taxes, or to “secure” a relative’s release. The irreversible nature of these transactions makes them ideal for criminals.
Old Scams, New Tricks: Phishing, Tech Support, and Fake Jobs
Classic cons haven’t disappeared; they’ve been upgraded with modern tech.
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Phishing and Smishing 2.0: AI-generated emails and texts are now indistinguishable from legitimate communications from your bank, internet provider, or a parcel service. They create a false sense of urgency—”Your account has been locked!”—to trick you into clicking a link that steals your login credentials or installs spyware.
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Tech Support Scams: These begin with a cold call claiming to be from “Microsoft Support” or a alarming pop-up on your screen warning of a virus. The goal is to panic you into granting remote access to your computer. Once in, they can install real malware, steal files and passwords, or simply demand a fee for a “fix” to a non-existent problem.
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Fake Job Listings: The rise of remote work has been a boon for scammers. They post enticing fake job ads on major platforms with high pay and flexibility. After a fake interview, they send a “job offer” designed to harvest your personal data (Social Security number, bank details) for identity theft, or they demand an upfront “training fee” or equipment deposit.
How to Protect Yourself in the Age of Digital Deception
While the technology is advanced, the principles of defense remain grounded in skepticism and verification.
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Verify, Then Trust: If you receive an urgent request for money or information, verify it through a known, separate communication channel. If your “boss” emails asking for a gift card, call them on their known number. If your “grandchild” calls from jail, hang up and call their parents.
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Strengthen Your Digital Defenses:
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Use a Password Manager: Create and store strong, unique passwords for every account.
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Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): This is your single most important defense against stolen passwords. Use an app-based authenticator rather than SMS if possible.
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Keep Software Updated: Regular updates patch critical security vulnerabilities.
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Be Crypto-Cautious: Treat any unsolicited investment advice with extreme skepticism. Never invest through a platform recommended by someone you only know online. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it is.
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Think Before You Click: Hover over links to see the true destination URL. Be wary of emails and texts that create a sudden sense of panic or urgency. Legitimate organizations will never ask for sensitive information via a link in an email.
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Know the Red Flags: A legitimate business will never demand payment via gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency. Any request for an upfront fee for a “guaranteed” job or investment is a major warning sign.
The Bottom Line
Technology has supercharged age-old fraud, making deception more scalable, personalized, and convincing than ever before. AI erodes our ability to trust what we see and hear, while crypto provides the perfect vehicle for anonymous theft. In this environment, awareness and a healthy dose of skepticism are not just prudent—they are essential. Your greatest defense is to slow down, question everything, and verify before you act.
Rahul Telang is a Professor of Information Systems at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.
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