AI scams, deepfakes & misinformation

Scammers use AI to create many fake social media profiles, write messages quickly, and translate them smoothly. Some fake investment websites even have AI chatbots that steer visitors toward harmful links.

AI can make realistic profile photos, fake IDs, fake celebrity endorsements, and images of disasters used to ask for fake donations.

Before you trust a photo

• Look for odd hands, teeth, eyes or shadows
• Be wary of anyone who only shares photos but never meets
• Check charities through official sources before giving

Scammers can clone the voice of a relative to ask for emergency money, or to pretend to be someone in order to get into bank accounts.

Criminals use AI video in live chats to pose as company bosses or officials, to make an online contact seem real, and to make fake promotional videos for investment scams.

The FTC warns that scammers can clone a loved one’s voice from a short clip posted online, then call pretending to be in an emergency and ask for money.

What to do

• Don’t trust the voice alone. Hang up and call the person on a number you know
• If you can’t reach them, check with other family or friends
• Be wary of requests for wire transfers, cryptocurrency or gift cards
• Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov

The FBI suggests creating a secret word or phrase with your family to confirm who is really calling. Listen closely to tone and word choice, too.

Set it up

1. Choose a word or phrase that isn’t posted online
2. Share it in person, not by text or social media
3. Agree that anyone asking for urgent money must say it
4. Practice once, so it feels natural

Scammers may pretend to be a manager, a bank or a government official, sometimes on video. The FBI advises hanging up and calling the organization directly on a number you know is real.

Warning signs

• Pressure to act right now
• Requests to keep it secret
• Payment by wire, cryptocurrency or gift cards
• Requests for passwords or account details

Scammers send AI-made photos and videos to convince people they are talking to a real person, and use AI to build fake investment sites. Investment scams had the highest reported losses in 2024.

Protect yourself

• Never send money or crypto to someone you have only met online
• Don’t share sensitive information with people you’ve met only online or by phone
• Keep your social media private, and limit how much of your face and voice is public

Things to check

• Distorted hands or fingers
• Odd teeth, eyes or faces
• Unnatural movement or lip-sync
• A voice whose tone or word choice feels off

AI images of disasters or conflicts can be used to stir up emotion, ask for fake donations or move markets.

Before sharing

• Check whether trusted news or official sources report it
• Look for the original source, not a repost
• Notice if it is designed to make you angry or afraid

Since May 19, 2026, the FTC has been enforcing the TAKE IT DOWN Act. Covered platforms must remove intimate images shared without consent within 48 hours of a valid request. You can report platforms that don’t act at TakeItDown.ftc.gov.

MedlinePlus suggests checking who runs a health website, who pays for it, and whether a medical expert reviews the information.

If you ask a question that assumes something is true, AI will often go along with it. Ask neutral questions, and ask for the other side.

Try asking

• “What is the evidence against this?”
• “What would a doctor say?”
• “Give me three different views.”

Before making any big decision based on a chatbot’s advice, talk it over with trusted people first. They know your life and what matters to you.

Talking to AI can feel private, so people often share very personal things. But your words are usually recorded. Chatbots are owned by companies, and your information may be used to train future AI or for marketing.

Most wellness apps are also not covered by the health privacy laws that protect what you tell a doctor or therapist.

Protect yourself

• Don’t share your full name, address, school, workplace or health records.
• Read the privacy settings and turn off data sharing where you can.
• Look for a way to delete your chats and data, and use it.

Experts urge people to be very careful about sharing sensitive information with AI, and to check privacy policies and in-app settings.

A quick privacy check

1. Open the app’s settings and find “privacy” or “data”.
2. Turn off options that use your chats to train the AI, if you can.
3. Find out how to delete your history, and do it regularly.
4. Leave out names, addresses, health records and anything that identifies you or others.

The FTC can act against companies that misrepresent how they use or share your health information. Its Health Breach Notification Rule, updated in 2024, requires many health apps not covered by HIPAA to tell users if their health data is breached.

In its 2025 inquiry, the FTC asked companion chatbot makers how they make money from engagement and how they use or share personal information from conversations.

Before you open up

• Assume chats are stored
• Check whether your chats are used to train the AI, and turn that off if you can
• Be careful with voice and photos, which can identify you
• Never share other people’s private stories

Some clinics now use AI to help write notes. Ask whether sessions are recorded, where the data goes and how long it is kept. The AI, work & the future guide has more on AI in clinics.

Things that help

• Tell someone you trust
• Save evidence before blocking or reporting
• Take breaks from checking
• Talk with a counselor if fear or shame stays with you

People who report to ReportFraud.ftc.gov after losing money get next steps on how to try to recover it. Reporting also helps protect others.

If money was sent

• Contact your bank or the payment company right away
• Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov
• Report online fraud to the FBI at ic3.gov

Many people don’t tell anyone because they feel foolish. Talking to someone you trust can ease that weight, and helps you see that the fault lies with the scammer.

Kind things to tell yourself

• “This was designed to fool people.”
• “I acted out of love or trust, and that is not a flaw.”
• “I’m taking steps now.”

The U.S. Department of Justice runs the National Elder Fraud Hotline, 833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311), for fraud against anyone 60 or older. Friends and family can call too. Staff can help file reports with the FBI and FTC.

Tell them it is never their fault and that they can always come to you. Report harmful content to the platform and, if needed, to the school or police.