AI scams are so realistic that even the most tech savvy person might fall prey to them. AI development increases by the day, and of course with any new technology, there comes the perversion of such technology, especially for malicious intent.
The old, “Your car’s extended warranty” trick might not cut it, but what about a call from a loved one? Yes, it is that real and it’s terrifying. Americans lost $893 million because of AI scams in 2025 (via the FBI), and if I had to speculate, the report might be worse for 2026 as AI continues to evolve.
There are several red flags you should watch out for with any sort of potential scam, but with AI scams, you need to be extra vigilant.
Red flag: Urgency
The urgent “RIGHT NOW” energy is a dead giveaway for scammers. My own mother-in-law received a call from the “courthouse,” saying that she missed her summons. And they threatened to put out a warrant against her if they didn’t receive information to confirm her identity, which of course included her Social Security number.
That’s a scary thing to be threatened with, but you know what you should do? Call your courthouse directly on a trusted number and verify that information. The same goes for anyone claiming to be from an official government body or even a loved one. Contact them directly on a trusted line of communication.
If the court really wanted you that urgently, they’d be knocking on your door. Take time to assess what these potential scammers are asking you and verify the information on your end.
Red flag: Emails about your account
One of the most common scams are emails about your account. It’s more terrifying now because they look so legit. I’ve caught myself second-guessing multiple times because some emails just look too realistic. It could be anything from threats about locking your account to resetting your password because there’s been a data breach.
The key here is to NEVER click on any links in an unprompted email or download any PDFs or documents. If there’s an actual problem with your account, login at the source, and assess what the supposed issue might be. It wouldn’t hurt to reset your password as well.
Red flag: Payment requests
Even if your best friend is asking you for money, I hope that you’d at least ask, “Why?” The same goes for anything you receive in the mail, in an email, or on the phone.
AI-generated emails and voices are incredibly convincing, and it’s easy to get scared into sending someone money because you “missed a payment,” or that you owe a debt, especially if you’re someone on top of your finances.
Take a deep breath, and don’t click on any link or give out any of your financial information. If you really did miss a payment, go directly to the source that they’re claiming you owe money to. Always deal with your financials directly, where you typically would, and never through anyone that contacts you unprompted.
Red flag: Pushback
As I’ve said so far, verifying the information being told to you is the most important thing to do in these situations, but there’s another dead giveaway for scammers — pushback.
Seriously, I’ve been on the phone with some of these scammers and they will be actively evasive or straight up pushy if you try to ask them questions to verify the information that they’re claiming to have.
If you’re talking to someone, or something in the case of an AI bot, who simply isn’t cooperating with your requests, run for the hills immediately.
Bottom line
Remain vigilant. The common throughline with all these red flags is that you want to verify and assess all of the information on your end without giving anything away yourself.
It’s not exactly fun to remain suspicious at everything you see, but unfortunately that’s the current world we live in. A highly personal email can contain detailed information about you, but that doesn’t mean you should trust it — companies sell your data all the time and experience data breaches, so it shouldn’t be hard to believe that a scammer acquired personal details about you.
There’s a “gotcha” mentality prevalent in even legitimate businesses, so always check the information twice and don’t be afraid to ask a friend or even the internet for help.
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