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Urgency, secrecy, an unusual payment request, a link or phone number supplied by the sender, and an identity you cannot confirm independently are more useful warning signs than a spelling mistake or a strange-looking face. The checks below apply to texts, email, phone calls, voice notes, photos, and video.
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The safest rule: verify the request, not the realism
AI-generated scams are designed to make a false story feel familiar and immediate. A text may use your name and recent details. A caller may sound exactly like a relative. A video may show a recognizable face speaking naturally. None of those qualities proves who is behind the communication.
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Authentication means confirming the person or organization through a separate route. If a supposed relative calls from an unfamiliar number, end the call and dial the number stored in your contacts. If a message claims to be from your bank, open the bank’s app or type its known web address yourself. If a video announces a major event, check the organization’s official channel and reputable news coverage. Do not use the link, number, email address, payment details, or QR code supplied in the suspicious communication for that check.
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says impersonation scams were the top fraud reported year after year and that consumers reported nearly $3 billion in losses to impersonators in 2024. That figure covers impersonation fraud broadly; it is not an estimate of losses caused specifically by generative AI.
Warning signs that apply to every format
Pressure that removes time to think
Scammers commonly create a deadline: a relative is supposedly in jail, an account will be closed today, a parcel cannot be delivered, or an executive needs an immediate payment. Emotional distress, threats, and claims that you must act before speaking to anyone else are deliberate attempts to prevent verification. A legitimate emergency can withstand a short call to a known number.
Secrecy and isolation
“Do not tell anyone” is a major practical warning sign, especially when paired with a money or identity request. Fraudsters may say a lawyer, bank employee, police officer, or family member told you to keep the matter confidential. Ask another trusted person to review the request before you act. Their distance from the story can make pressure tactics easier to see.
Requests for money, credentials, or software
Treat an unexpected request for a password, one-time code, Social Security number, account recovery information, remote-access software, or a transfer as unverified. Payment demands involving gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, cash, or payment apps deserve particular caution because they can be difficult to reverse. A familiar name or voice does not change that risk.
Identity details that do not line up
Inspect the sender’s full email address, phone number, account handle, and web address. Look for a substituted character, an extra word, an unfamiliar domain, or a link that leads somewhere different from its visible text. Spelling and grammar can provide clues, but fluent wording is no guarantee: AI can produce clean, personalized prose for social engineering and spear-phishing.
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Branding and caller ID are not proof
Logos, signatures, message colors, profile photos, and caller-ID labels can be copied or spoofed. Use them as context only. Verification must come from a contact channel you found independently, not from the communication that is trying to persuade you.
How to check a suspicious text or email
1. Read the requested action before the story
Ask what the sender wants you to do: click, sign in, send a code, reveal personal information, install software, or transfer money. A long explanation can distract from a dangerous request. If the action is unexpected, pause even when the message appears to come from a known contact.
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Expand the sender details rather than relying on a display name. On a computer, hover over a link without clicking; on a phone, press and hold only if your device shows the destination safely. Compare the actual domain with the organization’s known address. Do not open attachments or links merely to “see what happens.”
3. Verify outside the message
Find the organization’s website by typing an address you already know, using a bookmark you created earlier, or looking up a phone number independently. For a family or colleague request, call the number in your contacts or use a separate conversation channel. Ask a simple question that the real person or organization can answer, but do not disclose information that helps an impostor refine the story.
4. Look for a mismatch between the relationship and the request
Consider whether this person normally asks you for money, account codes, or confidential data in this way. A request to change a familiar process—such as paying a new account, buying gift cards, or bypassing a normal approval—needs confirmation through the established process. Do not let a message’s polished wording substitute for that process.
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5. Preserve evidence before deleting
Save the message, full sender address, phone number, URLs, attachments, screenshots, and any transaction details. Do not reply to argue or test the scammer; engagement can confirm that your address or number is active.
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A short clip can be enough to imitate a voice
The FTC warns that a scammer may clone a loved one’s voice from a short audio sample and use it in a fake emergency call. A recognizable voice is therefore a clue about what the scammer copied, not proof of who is speaking. Caller ID can also be falsified.
Use a callback and a second person
- End or pause the call. Say that you will call back, then hang up. Do not allow the caller to keep you on the line while you “verify” the situation.
- Call a known number. Use the number stored in your contacts or another source you already trust. Never use a callback number provided during the suspicious call.
- Confirm through another trusted contact. If the person cannot be reached, call a relative, coworker, school, or organization that can independently confirm where they are.
- Use a prearranged family check if you have one. A private question or family password can add a layer of verification. Do not treat a correct answer as the only proof if the caller is also demanding money or secrecy.
Listen for clues, but do not grade the audio
Unnatural pauses, odd inflections, awkward phrasing, mismatched background sound, or abrupt changes in tone can suggest synthetic speech. Their absence proves nothing. Modern generated audio may contain no obvious artifact, and a genuine call can sound distorted because of a poor connection. The decision should rest on independent confirmation and the requested action.
How to assess AI-generated images and video
Artifacts are prompts for checking, not a verdict
Possible clues include irregular faces or hands, strange accessories, inconsistent lighting and shadows, impossible reflections, awkward movement, and speech that does not match facial motion. Synthetic speech in a video may also contain unnatural pauses, inflections, phrasing, or background audio. These signs are neither required for a fake nor sufficient to prove one. The FBI warns that generated content has advanced to the point that it is often difficult to identify.
Verify the claim attached to the media
Separate the question “Was this file generated?” from “Is the claim true?” Check a surprising announcement against the organization’s official channels and reputable news sources. For a person you meet online, confirm identity through a different route that you locate yourself. Do not send money or sensitive information based only on a photograph, a video chat, or a voice message.
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What a reverse-image search can and cannot tell you
A reverse-image search may show that a profile picture appears on other websites or under different names. That can expose a reused image, but it cannot establish that the person currently contacting you owns or controls the image. A newly generated image may have no useful matches, and a real person’s stolen photo can look completely authentic. Treat the result as one clue within an independent identity check.
A practical comparison for two competing explanations
When you are deciding between “this is a genuine request” and “this is an impersonation,” score the communication against the same questions. No single visual, audio, or textual feature should decide the outcome.
| Question | Lower-risk pattern | Higher-risk pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Can you verify the sender independently? | You reach the person or organization through a number, site, or app you already trust, and they confirm the request. | The only contact details come from the message, caller, profile, or video. |
| How is time being used? | You can pause, consult someone, and follow the normal process. | You are told to act immediately or to avoid checking with anyone else. |
| What is being requested? | The request matches an established procedure and does not require unusual secrets or codes. | Money, credentials, identity data, remote access, a one-time code, or software installation is demanded unexpectedly. |
| How reversible is payment? | You can use a familiar, documented payment process after confirmation. | Gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, cash, or payment-app transfers are demanded. |
| Do media clues agree with other evidence? | The identity and claim are confirmed through a separate channel. | You are asked to rely on a polished voice, photo, video, logo, or caller-ID label. |
What to do when a message, call, or image may be a scam
- Stop the transaction. Do not click, reply with sensitive information, transfer money, install software, or share a one-time code while the claim is unverified.
- Write down the facts. Record who supposedly contacted you, what they claimed, what they requested, the time, the number or address used, and any payment instructions.
- Make an independent contact. Use a trusted number, a website you typed yourself, a known app, or an in-person contact. Do not use details contained in the suspicious communication.
- Bring in another person. Ask a family member, colleague, or friend to review an urgent or emotional request before you respond.
- Secure accounts if you disclosed information. Change affected passwords from a trusted device and contact the real organization through its official channel. If you shared a one-time code, tell the account provider immediately that an impostor may have used it.
- Contact the payment provider if money moved. Call your bank, payment app, gift-card issuer, wire service, or cryptocurrency provider immediately. Ask whether the transaction can be stopped, recalled, or recovered; speed matters, but recovery is not guaranteed.
- Report the incident. U.S. consumers can report suspected fraud to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. For relevant internet-enabled crime, submit a complaint to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
- Keep the evidence. Preserve messages, URLs, caller details, profile links, screenshots, receipts, and provider case numbers. Do not edit the original files if investigators may need them.
Common situations and the safest response
“Your grandchild is in trouble and needs money now”
Do not rely on the voice or accept the caller’s demand for secrecy. Hang up, call the grandchild’s known number, and contact another family member. If the story involves police, a hospital, or a lawyer, find that institution’s public number yourself and ask whether the claim is real. Never buy gift cards or send cryptocurrency because a caller says it is the only way to help.
“Your bank account will be closed; sign in here”
Do not click the link or call the number in the message. Open the bank’s app or type its known address, then review alerts or contact support through the established process. A bank employee should not need your password or a one-time code read back to an unsolicited caller.
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Use the normal approval and payment workflow. Call your manager on a known number or speak in person, and confirm any change to account details with a second authorized person. Executive names, signatures, and writing style can all be imitated.
“A profile photo and video prove this online contact is real”
They do not. Ask for independent identity confirmation and avoid sending money, identity documents, account credentials, or intimate material. A reverse-image result can reveal reuse, but a clean result does not authenticate the person.
Limits of AI detection
There is no guaranteed visual, audio, or linguistic test that identifies every AI-generated scam. Detection services, watermark claims, file metadata, and human guesses can be wrong or unavailable. A genuine recording may contain artifacts, while a synthetic recording may look and sound flawless. Use suspected artifacts to trigger a verification step, never as permission to proceed.
The strongest defense is procedural: slow down, separate the communication from the verification channel, involve another trusted person, and refuse irreversible payments until the identity and request are confirmed. This guidance is based on U.S. federal consumer and law-enforcement advice; reporting routes and local protections differ in other countries.
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Official guidance
The FTC summarizes the voice-cloning risk plainly: “If someone calls or sends a message claiming to be a family member or a friend desperate for money, don’t trust the voice on the line — even if it sounds like your family member or friend.” Its broader advice is equally practical: “If you’re not sure if a call or message is real, reach out to the business, organization, or person … using contact information you looked up yourself and know to be true.”
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