08/04/2025

How to Guard Against the New Generation of Fraud and Identity Theft

Kiplinger

These days, even the most astute consumers can fall victim to identity theft schemes and financial scams.

No longer can you count on obvious red flags to spot a scam, such as a misspelled email from a Nigerian prince or a call from a robotic voice.

Now, many fraudulent websites and emails look legitimate, and scammers use personal information they've collected about you to persuade you they're the real deal — and to prompt you to act quickly, without questioning the interaction.

Artificial intelligence has contributed to the rise of these more sophisticated and realistic schemes.

"AI has made it much easier for the bad actors to put together absolutely picture-perfect emails, texts and scripts for phone calls. We used to teach people how to detect a phishing text or email, but we don't do that anymore because it’s too hard to tell," says Eva Velasquez, CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC).