FBI: AI Deepfake Worsens Fraud Risk, Tax Season Scams Harder to Detect

BlockBeats News, March 14th, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as artificial intelligence technology becomes more widespread, government impersonation scams are on the rise. Scammers can use deepfake videos, voice synthesis, and generative AI to impersonate government officials or corporate executives, making scams more realistic.

The report stated that attackers can generate lifelike digital personas through publicly available audiovisual materials, and use AI to generate highly personalized scam messages. In 2024, a scam case involving AI-generated fake video conferences led to employees at the Hong Kong office of the UK engineering firm Arup being deceived into transferring around 200 million Hong Kong dollars (about 25 million U.S. dollars) to a scam account.

During the U.S. tax season, scammers often impersonate the Internal Revenue Service or other government agencies to create urgent payment requests. According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, in 2024, government impersonation scams received over 17,000 complaints, with losses exceeding 400 million U.S. dollars.

Security experts remind the public to be cautious of messages demanding immediate payments, to verify the source through official channels, and to avoid clicking on links in suspicious emails or text messages.