May 22, 2026
Most of us can admit that artificial intelligence has made aspects of our lives easier — but it’s hard to deny that it’s caused some serious problems. AI harms the environment, CEOs blame layoffs on AI, and it’s impossible to escape AI art. Americans can now add another valid complaint to that list: AI is supercharging to financial scams.
Visa (NYSE: V) has published its Spring 2026 Biannual Threats Report, which reveals that fraudsters use AI to reach more consumers and make scams more convincing. Paul Fabara, chief risk and client services officer at Visa, said in a press release that “threats are evolving faster than ever.”
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Scams are now the main threat to consumers, and AI is fast-tracking fraudulent behavior. In the second half of 2025, Visa identified almost $1 billion in scam activity.
“The rapid adoption of AI has fundamentally lowered the barrier to entry for fraud,” Michael Jabbara, SVP of payment ecosystem risk and control at Visa, said in the press release. “What once required deep technical skill can now be executed with a prompt.”
AI helps scammers prey on humans, not technology
In an interview with Moneywise, Fabara explained that AI is transforming fraud in two major ways: impersonations and scale.
Scammers use AI to impersonate sources you would normally trust, such as a bank or even a family member. They do this not only through emails and text messages, which you might suspect by now, but also through phone calls and videos.
“Voice cloning has been a particularly concerning development, as criminals can now replicate someone’s voice using only a short audio sample, making scam calls significantly more believable and emotionally persuasive,” says Fabara. “We’re also seeing increased use of deepfake video, fake customer support interactions and highly personalized phishing campaigns that leverage publicly available data to build trust with consumers.”
Regarding scale, AI tools help fraudsters test, automate, and run scams faster. Phishing emails used to be more generic, but now, Fabara says, criminals can “rapidly generate thousands of tailored messages” to their audiences. This makes it more likely that a person will open an email or respond to a text message.
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“Ultimately, these attacks are becoming more sophisticated because they are designed to exploit human trust and behavior, rather than simply targeting technical vulnerabilities,” he told Moneywise.
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Tips for spotting red flags
Since scams are becoming so convincing with AI, how can you possibly tell if someone is trying to defraud you?
Some of the old rules for detecting fraud still apply. As always, take notice if the person you’re speaking with tries to convince you to act fast or otherwise communicates that the issue is urgent. Another warning sign is someone asking you for money.
But there are some new red flags to watch out for, too. Fabara told Moneywise that scammers use AI to combine “emotional manipulation” with “highly personalized information.” You might believe you’re talking with your aunt because she knows your birthday. Maybe she even knows you’re going on a trip to Cabo next week — but that’s because you posted that information on social media.
“Deepfake and voice-cloning technology have become more sophisticated than ever,” Fabara said. “We like to recommend families have phrases or questions that could never be found online to help verify the person who is calling is who they say they are.”
Have you fallen victim to an AI scam? Take these 3 steps
If you believe you’re a victim of an AI-driven financial scam — or any scam — act quickly to minimize the damage.
Fabara suggests three steps to reporting a scam. The first is to contact your financial institution using the number on the back of your credit card or the contact information from their fraud department on their website.
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It’s crucial that you contact your bank, not the other way around. “Do not trust caller ID that it is your bank who is calling you — that can easily be spoofed,” Fabara said.
Second, he recommends documenting everything you can think of that would be related to the scam. A paper trail helps banks understand fraudsters’ patterns and educate the public.
Third, update your financial accounts. Change your passwords, set up multi-factor authentication, and keep an eye on your account for a while to see if any new suspicious activity pops up.
Finally, Fabara encourages victims not to be too hard on themselves and not to let any embarrassment stop them from reporting the scam.
“Scammers are good at what they do, and schemes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, highly personalized and difficult to detect, even for experienced users,” he said.
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Laura Grace Tarpley is a contributing reporter for Moneywise who has been covering personal finance and working in digital media for 10 years. Her expertise spans banking, investing, retirement, loans, mortgages, and taxes.
