AI-Powered Scams Surge 500% as Criminals Automate Fraud

TRM Labs Global Head of Policy Ari Redbord reported a 500% increase in AI-enabled scam activity over the past year during a joint congressional hearing on Tuesday.

Halcyon Ransomware Research Center Senior Vice President Cynthia Kaiser explained how AI lowered the barrier for cybercriminals. She said it's easier to lie with AI, easier to make convincing emails with malicious links, and easier to create deepfakes.

Institute for Security and Technology Chief Strategy Officer Megan Stifel described how criminals now use AI to counter every defense victims try to mount. She said they're using that analysis capability to essentially have a response to every blockade the victim tries to assert, making it harder for victims to avoid making payments.

Chainalysis Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence Jacqueline Burns Koven told DL News in February that criminals were already selling AI software to help scammers impersonate others and trick victims into fraudulent investments.

Kaiser, who has FBI background, suggested formal evaluation by the Departments of State, Justice and Treasury on whether terrorism designation authorities under existing law could apply to ransomware actors targeting hospitals. She also warned that security teams would be exhausted if they didn't use the same technology as attackers.

The congressional testimony came weeks after security experts told DL News that cybercriminals are using AI to search for bugs in DeFi protocols. Redbord told lawmakers that the tools to fight back exist today, but defenders need to move as fast as the bad actors—a challenge emphasized during Tuesday's hearing.