Cybercrime losses jump 26% as scammers weaponize AI | #cybercrime | #infosec

SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) — New numbers from the FBI show that cybercrime losses in the United States are exploding. The agency reports nearly $21 billion lost in 2025 alone, a 26 percent jump from the year prior.

Investigators report artificial intelligence is making scams faster, cheaper, and far more believable – from fake texts and emails from banks to cloned voices that sound like someone you love.

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center says that Americans reported up to $20.877 billion in losses last year, with over one million people sending in complaints.

Kimberly Palmer, a personal finance expert from NerdWallet, says criminals use AI to comb through personal data. She said a lot of that information became accessible through data breaches. They’re looking for people to share even more sensitive information, including passwords, banking numbers, and more. “We’re seeing a really huge rise in scammers using the power of AI to target consumers,” she explained.

How AI is changing scams

The newest scams don’t look like typos anymore. Experts said that artificial intelligence is helping criminals make messages personal and believable.

“One thing consumers can do is to just get familiar with how powerful AI has become in terms of audio and video cloning,” she noted. “You might even get a phone call that sounds like a familiar voice. That’s a classic grandparent scam.”

The safest course of action is to hang up the phone and call a verified number.

Older adults hit especially hard

The government’s report shows that older adults are hit especially hard. People 60 and over reported nearly $8 billion in losses last year.

Palmer explains why this may be. “Unfortunately, older adults are really targeted by scammers,” she said. “They tend to have more wealth because they have their retirement savings and accumulated wealth over a lifetime.”

How to protect yourself

Whether you’re a senior or a young adult, there are ways to prevent the scams from hitting your wallet. It starts with freezing your credit.

Taking this step is free and should only take five to ten minutes. You’ll go online to each of the major credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion – and those websites will guide you through the steps. You won’t be able to open any new accounts while your credit is frozen, but neither will anyone else.

“It’s worth thinking about doing for any children under the age of 18 just to make sure that their identities are protected,” Palmer said. “Because unfortunately, children and child-related identity theft is also a growing problem.”

What to do if you’re scammed

If you think you’ve fallen victim to a scam – whether it’s over a call, text, email, or another form of communication – call your bank and change your account numbers immediately. Then you should call the police as well.

Palmer said once money is taken or sent to a scammer, it can be hard or impossible to recover that money. Law enforcement is overwhelmed by the amount of fraud going on and can’t chase down every single fraud that takes place.

Part of the problem is that many people are embarrassed to report what happened. “It can be something that brings up embarrassment and shame,” Palmer said. “And so we just want to be more open about having these conversations and have people know it’s not your fault.”