AI Scams Cost Americans $21B, Seniors Hit Hardest

0:00It's April 7th. This is US News Today, powered by AI bringing you what matters across the US. AI is supercharging online scams, hitting Americans with nearly $21 billion in losses last year, per the FBI's latest internet crime, Complaint Center Report. Criminals are using AI to whip up fake voices, videos, and identities that fool folks way easier than before. They logged over 22,000 complaints just on AI scams, racking up almost $893 million stolen. CryptoCons led the pack with over $11 billion gone for more than 181,000 reports while straight up investment. Fraud top $8 billion. Fishing, extortion, fake government calls, and tech support tricks rounded out the big hitters, pushing total cybercrime complaints past 1 million. Seniors over 60 got slam hardest, losing about $7.7 billion, a 37% jump from the year before.

1:02Scammers pile on the pressure, mixing lies with tech tricks to rush victims into wiring cash or spilling secrets. The FBI's fighting back through Operation Level Up, which warned over 8,000 crypto scam targets and saved more than 500 million dollars since last year. They kicked off Operation Winter Shield this year too, helping outfits beef up defenses all fed by nearly 3,000 daily complaints that spot. Trends and bus networks. Experts like retired FBI agents Scott Ogdenbaum say it's whack-a-mole with AI accounts popping up everywhere, even nation-states scaling up the chaos. So take a beat on sketchy messages, verify first, hold your money and info tight, and stay sharp out there.