Artificial intelligence has created a "new frontier" of scams, according to Jon Maroni, financial engagement manager with Spokane Valley-based Numerica Credit Union. 

“We’re seeing a ton of AI-powered scams,” Maroni says. “Unfortunately, they’re easy to prop up because it takes a lot of the legwork away from the scammer.”

AI can mimic the voices of loved ones, for example, and scammers use that audio to pose as them, says Maroni. The increasingly prevalent technology can also help set up fraudulent websites and social media accounts.

Maroni points to a recent scam in which White Mountain Supply, a fake company, claimed to offer steep discounts on outdoor equipment online, such as jackets, skis, and snowboards. The fake business even had a Facebook account with more than 120,000 followers.

“If you didn’t do a pretty deep dive into who the people were who were liking the page, ... you thought it was legit,” he says. 

Jody Gentemann, vice president of risk management with Liberty Lake-based STCU, agrees that AI has made it more difficult for consumers to discern scams.

“It’s a little bit trickier because that low-hanging fruit has been corrected,” says Gentemann.

Even with the rise in AI-powered schemes, though, there are ways to check if something might be a scam, she says.

If someone is impersonating a loved one over the phone, for example, the recipient can ask the caller questions that a loved one would actually know, Gentemann suggests. She uses the example of asking the scammer if they enjoyed the sweet potato pie she made for Thanksgiving, when there wasn’t actually sweet potato pie at her holiday dinner.

“A fraudster is going to say, ‘oh yeah, it was great,’ and then you can just hang up,” she says.

Other red flags to look for include scammers instituting a sense of urgency, insisting that their targets need to do what they say or they'll get in trouble, as well as them asking for personal information, such as a social security number, bank account number, or a card's PIN, she says.

Despite the myriad of scams to look out for, people can take certain precautions to reduce their likelihood of becoming a victim.

In the example of White Mountain Supply, the site only had internal reviews posted on the website, Maroni says. He encourages people to take a look at the profiles that have left those reviews as well, to gauge how recently the accounts were created, how many friends they have, and how far back their posting history goes.

Maroni also likes the website Trustpilot as a resource, he says. Eventually, White Mountain Supply ended up on the website, with people saying they purchased items from the fraudulent site that were never delivered.

For general scam advice, Maroni says individuals can put a freeze on their credit at any time for any reason, and it stays until they lift it.

He also recommends caution when communicating with institutions that have sensitive information. A scammer can spoof a phone number and make it appear that they’re calling from a legitimate company or business.

“It’s okay to screen calls and let them go to voicemail,” he says. “When you call back at that legitimate number, that’s not going to go back to the scammer.”

Maroni says the Federal Trade Commission, the government agency in charge of keeping on top of these scams and protecting consumers, provides information on its website, at identitytheft.gov, about scams and what people should do if they’ve been scammed. However, they still can’t keep up with the ever-evolving landscape, he says.

In response, many Spokane-area financial institutions, including Numerica, are augmenting their educational content and informing members of the different scams they’re seeing, he says.

“Often what will happen is a credit union will find out about a scam through a member, sometimes who has fallen victim to a scam, and then we try to get that information out as best as we can to other members,” says Maroni.

STCU, Gentemann says, hasn’t really seen an increase in fraud claims because the credit union “invests in technology and the monitoring systems to prevent and detect fraudulent activity on accounts."

Still, some common scams remain prominent in the market, scams Maroni describes as “tried and true.”

Romantic scams are common, says Maroni. Posing as a family member in trouble to ask for money has also long been a common scam, even before AI made it easier to do. Technology-support scams, which often involve a bad actor posing as a tech company employee to seek remote access to a person's computer, are also common.

Additionally, some scams are more prominent during certain times of year.

“Right now, we’re going to see quite a bit related to your tax returns,” says Maroni.

Tax-related scams can take many forms, including fraudulent sites and services posing as tax return help, and scammers collecting social security numbers to try and claim tax returns in others’ names. In February, there’s an uptick in romance scams, and during college financial aid season, some common scams involve offers to help people fill out Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, forms for a small fee, Maroni says.

If someone falls victim to a scam, Maroni says there are three important steps they should take.

First, victims can visit the Federal Trade Commission's website. It covers recovery plans based on which scam someone fell prey to. Second, Maroni recommends becoming familiar with the credit freeze process. Third, victims should immediately get in touch with their financial institution, he says.

“Do not be ashamed if you fall victim to a scam,” says Maroni. “It happens to millions of Americans. Often, when we experience shame, especially at a very deep level related to money, it prohibits us from reaching out for help.”

Gentemann adds that the first thing someone should do is tell a trusted individual. They should also reach out and tell their credit union or bank they think they’ve been scammed as soon as possible.

Between the various ways to pay online, Maroni says credit cards are the best way.

“I think it’s the strongest payment method in terms of protecting yourself as a consumer,” he says.

Similarly, Gentemann doesn’t recommend using debit cards when shopping online.

“With a credit card, the bad actor has access to your credit, but with a debit card, they have access to your whole bank account,” she says. 

Scammers prey on people of any age, but seniors are disproportionately targeted. There’s a couple reasons for that, says Maroni. Scammers may think seniors might be wealthier, he says, and there's an assumption that seniors might be more isolated than other age groups.

The perception that older populations might be less familiar with technology is another reason why they’re more likely to be targeted, Gentemann says, but people of all ages are impacted by scams.

“If you think you have been scammed, don’t be embarrassed about it. It can happen to anybody,” she says.