US Postal Service Warns of AI Scams
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is issuing a warning that scammers are using artificial intelligence to make old tricks seem more realistic. The alert, timed for National Consumer Protection Week, highlights the growing threat of AI in creating more convincing fraudulent messages and schemes.
Scammers are now using AI to eliminate classic red flags like typos and grammatical errors from phishing emails and texts, making fraudulent messages appear more polished and legitimate. These AI-powered scripts can also generate hyper-personalized messages, scraping social media and public data to include details about your life that build a false sense of trust. One of the most sophisticated new methods is voice cloning, where AI can realistically mimic the voice of a family member or friend in a supposed emergency to trick you into sending money. Beyond audio, deepfake videos can convincingly impersonate executives on video calls, leading to significant financial losses for businesses; in one 2024 case, a finance worker was duped into transferring $25 million after a video call with a deepfaked CFO. These AI tools are not just used for creating content; they also help scammers operate at a massive scale. Large language models can produce hundreds of unique variations of a phishing message in the time it would take a human to write one, allowing them to evade spam filters that look for repetitive content. The U.S. Postal Service itself is a frequent subject of impersonation, with fraudulent texts about package delivery issues being the most reported text scam of 2024. The real USPS will never call or text you to request money or personal information for a delivery. Any such message is a sign of a scam. This warning from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is part of National Consumer Protection Week, an annual event led by the Federal Trade Commission to educate the public on avoiding, reporting, and recovering from fraud. The week's focus is on empowering consumers with the knowledge to recognize the increasingly sophisticated tactics used in scams. While scammers are leveraging AI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is also using artificial intelligence to identify suspects and monitor illicit websites to combat mail fraud and identity theft. If you believe you've been a victim of a scam involving the U.S. Mail, you can report it to the USPIS at 877-876-2455 or online.
