Report: Impersonators Scam Fans Out of $5.3 Billion in 2025

imposter accounts are a giant problem online but this feels like an ad for Spikerz

 

Reasoning, deduction, pattern recognition: these lead me to believe, with absolute certainty that “hackers” is just synonymous with the American government. They have fleeced us for years, and continue to, and there’s no way the industry would allow it to happen as often as it has if they were not somehow involved in it too.

 

You have to be really stupid to fall for this stuff.

 

came here to say the same thing lol I definitely don’t feel particularly bad for someone that falls for something like that

 

I think it's a lot of older people.

What Are AI Scams? How Can I Avoid Them?

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/...sue6/artificialintelligenceandfinancialscams/

Older adults are particularly vulnerable to scam calls – many are more trusting of people who present themselves as having authority, power or influence. Also, comparatively to younger adults, older adults are more likely to lack confidence in their ability to identify a scam, or may have issues relating to cognitive decline, impacting their capacity to recognize malicious intent.Furthermore, older adults may experience loneliness or fears of abandonment, which may make them more likely than other age groups to continue to engage with individuals who may present themselves in a way that earns their trust.

With technological advancement, especially in the artificial intelligence (AI) space, perpetrators are evolving new and nefarious ways to obtain the trust, and eventually money or resources, of people of all backgrounds. With the rise in use and development of generative AI, scammers are profiting far more from scam calls than ever before, presenting further challenges to the financial and emotional wellbeing of older adults.

And it's getting very fucked up and sad: Family says scammers used AI to impersonate woman’s granddaughter – NBC10 Philadelphia

 

Yeah lots of shitty victim blaming going on when these often target lonely elderly people. I work with low-income older adults and these things ruin their lives. Do better y'all.

 

Social engineering remains a thing as well and it's less detectable... and I can only imagine AI making that even worse. Let's have empathy for those who fall under these schemes instead of acting like we're above them lol.