These familiar scams are now powered by artificial intelligence, and they're costing Americans billions, according to the latest FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center report.
For the first time in more than two decades, the FBI has formally tracked AI-related fraud in its annual cybercrime report, signaling a major shift in how scams are carried out and how difficult they are to detect.
Americans reported nearly $21 billion in cybercrime losses in 2025, the highest total ever recorded, according to the report. Within that, more than 22,000 complaints were tied to artificial intelligence, totaling about $893 million in losses.
Texas ranked second in the nation for both the number of cybercrime complaints and total financial losses in 2025, according to the report. The data underscores how widespread scams have become in Texas, where tens of thousands of cases and billions in losses were reported, the report says.
The trend is already showing up in North Texas
Even before AI was formally tracked, North Texas law enforcement agencies had been warning about increasingly sophisticated scams.
Local police and federal officials have flagged a rise in impersonation schemes, including calls mimicking relatives in distress, fake bank alerts, and messages posing as government agencies.
Officer Tre Mathis, spokesperson for the Lewisville Police Department, said in a press release that scams involving people posing as law enforcement have been a problem for years, but people continue to refine their tactics.
"These scam calls have been affecting our community — not just these specific ones, but scam calls in general where they pose as law enforcement," Mathis said. "As technology advances, these criminals get more intelligent and clever with how they operate."
With artificial intelligence now amplifying those tactics, the FBI says the scams are becoming more believable and harder to catch before money is lost.
What changed this year
The FBI has tracked internet crime since 2000. But until now, artificial intelligence hasn't emerged as its own category. That changed in 2025.
The agency's decision reflects how quickly AI has moved from a background tool to a central part of fraud schemes, according to the report.
Cyber fraud continued to surge from 2024 to 2025, with total reported losses rising from about $16.6 billion in 2024 to nearly $20.9 billion in 2025, a roughly 26% increase, according to the report.
Complaints also jumped from 859,000 in 2024 to more than 1 million in 2025, the FBI said.
How AI is making scams harder to spot
The scams themselves may feel familiar, but the technology behind them is not.
According to the FBI, scammers are using AI to clone voices, generate realistic emails and texts, and create fake images or videos to sell fraudulent investments.
Several key warning signs can help to spot scams.
A red flag is any request for personal information; you should never share passwords, bank details, or security codes with strangers, even if they claim to be from a government agency or bank, according to the FBI.
Be cautious if you are asked to use unusual payment methods, like gift cards, wire transfers, or direct withdrawals from your account, as these are common tactics used by scammers to move money, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Avoid clicking on suspicious links or downloading attachments from unknown sources, especially those sent through social media groups like WhatsApp or Facebook, according to the National Association of Attorneys General.
If unsure about a link or file, it's safest not to open it.
Where the money is going
Investment scams, many of them tied to cryptocurrency, remained the costliest category, accounting for billions of dollars in losses, according to the FBI.
Older adults reported the highest losses of any age group. And while AI-related losses remain a small share of the total, the numbers are rising, according to the report.
The Federal Trade Commission advises consumers to report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, while the FBI encourages reporting through its Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
© 2026 The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
