SAN ANTONIO — The FBI is warning about criminals using artificial intelligence to carry out financial fraud.
In the 2023 FBI Internet Crime Report it stated: "Today's cyber landscape is threatened by a multitude of malicious actors."
The agency reports that criminals have all kind of tools to conduct large-scale schemes.
Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's San Antonio Field Office, Aaron Tapp, said the number of cases dealing with financial fraud keeps growing every year.
"Each year we are seeing more and more victims of different types of financial scams," Tapp said. "And it has us very concerned."
He said the FBI has seen a huge increase in investment fraud, cryptocurrency and other financial schemes.
"The old scams are made more easy and more believable," Tapp said. "What used to be the Nigerian Prince Scams that all of us could detect, because of the misspellings and because of the way it was sent, now those are perfected with the use of AI developed tools."
Last year, the Internet Crime Complaint Center or IC3 reported a record number of complaints from Americans with losses that exceeded $12.5 billion.
"It is just the volume," Tapp said. "Because AI is able to get these scams messages out to so many more people, the volume of people being affected is much more and that increases our call volume."
The FBI said when it comes to AI, the scammers are using text, AI generated images, vocal cloning and videos. Tapp said there are simple steps people can take to stay protected.
"We need to create a culture of healthy skepticism among our community," he said. "Where people take a breath and take a beat. And think about 'Is this really something that I should be doing? Is this a scam?'"
In voice cloning, scammers will use a voice of a loved one to make it seem real. Tapp said create a secret word or phrase with your family, so you know it's them. The FBI also said it is best to limit the amount of personal information you put on social media. For other tips, click here.