Is That Call, Text or Email Real? Here’s How to Identify Scams

Online scams are an ever-present threat, costing Americans nearly $119 billion a year. It's not just happening on the internet either. Robocalls and text scams hit a six-year high in 2025.

Now, with the proliferation of artificial intelligence, scammers are even more sophisticated, using AI tools to bypass spam filters and trick people into divulging sensitive information or making false payments.

Attackers can use large language models -- trained to mimic human writing -- to create highly personalized, grammatically flawless phishing emails and texts that convincingly impersonate real individuals. They can also use machine learning to create voice clones, which mimic the pitch, tone and patterns of someone's voice.

As an author with a very public online presence, I’ve received dozens of advanced scams in recent months (over 10 of them while drafting this article), mostly aimed at getting me to purchase nonexistent marketing packages.

Here’s what I’ve...

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