5 Common Cyber Scams in 2025 and How to Spot Them

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Technology advances rapidly with the onset of AI and so do cyber scams. Cybercriminals are now exploiting AI, making it difficult for even the most tech-savvy individuals to identify deceptive schemes. Many fall victim because the attacks appear highly realistic, often mimicking legitimate sources with disturbing accuracy. 

This surge also creates significant challenges for law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to track threats and the need to stay ahead of evolving tactics presses on. As these scams grow more advanced, reported financial losses continue to rise. Before you become the next victim, here are the top 5 online scams in 2025.

1. AI-Powered Scams

AI has fully transformed traditional fraud tactics into more realistic, deceptive schemes. Phishing, for example, remains the most common scam method. It typically starts with a message from a seemingly reliable source, like a bank claiming your account is locked, a delivery service losing your package or even a surprise refund from a government agency. Victims are told something needs urgent attention and the message is almost always unexpected, urgent and crafted to make the recipient act fast without thinking.

Despite widespread campaigns aimed at increasing digital awareness, human error remains a central weak point. In 2023, researchers found that 10.4% of global employees clicked on a fraudulent link. Worse still, more than 60% of those people entered sensitive login credentials.

AI is making this even more dangerous. Scammers can now use AI to write messages that sound natural and even personalized. That slight difference in tone can be enough to trick someone into trusting a message they might otherwise ignore.

Examples of AI-Powered Scams

• Email phishing: The emails might look professional and include logos, signatures or names you recognize. All it takes is one click to download malware or share confidential information.
• Spear phishing: Spear phishing takes it further by targeting specific people. To seem legitimate, scammers will reference real details — job titles, work projects or even recent events. These details are often pulled from social media or company websites.
• Whaling: Whaling targets high-level executives with messages that use authority and insider knowledge. In one case, cybercriminals tricked a senior executive at Levitas Capital, an Australian hedge fund, with a fake Zoom invitation. That single click led to a loss of $8.7 million and ultimately shut the company down.
• Business email compromise: This attack impersonates CEOs, vendors or clients. It often asks employees to wire money or share sensitive files and because the emails appear to come from people in power, employees are more likely to comply.
• AI-generated images: Fraudsters use generative tools to create fake ads, websites and social media profiles. About 34 million images are generated by models daily, with many designed to lend legitimacy to scams.
• Deepfake videos: These videos are one of the most convincing forms of AI fraud. In 2024, a finance worker in Hong Kong was tricked into transferring $25 million after attending a video call where the “executive team” was actually a series of AI-generated videos.

2. Imposter Scams

Imposter scams are built on trust. A scammer doesn’t need to break into your account if they can convince you to hand over the keys. They do this by posing as someone you recognize — often a representative from a bank, the IRS or even a well-known celebrity. Once trust is established, deception is only a phone call or message away.

Identity Theft

This is not just a stolen credit card, but your entire digital self repurposed for fraud. Criminals piece together personal information through phishing emails, malware and now, AI-powered impersonation. Once they’ve gathered enough, they may create fake IDs, take out loans or rack up charges under your name. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, identity theft affected nearly 24 million Americans in 2021. 

Bank Impersonation

Scammers clone real messages and even insert their own into legitimate text threads. A message arrives saying your account is locked, a payment failed or you’ve received a suspicious charge. It looks real because it’s designed to. In 2022 alone, U.S. consumers lost roughly $330 million to these tricks.

Celebrity Impersonation

Some fraudsters put on a famous face. With AI deepfakes and voice cloning, they pretend to be celebrities reaching out personally, asking for money for a fake charity or promising exclusive access. It feels like a VIP moment. It’s a scam. And sometimes, it’s used not just for money but to sway opinions and manipulate public trust.

3. Sextortion Scams 

One of the darkest turns in online scamming is sextortion and AI is making it more terrifying. These crimes often begin when adults pose as teens on apps and gaming platforms. They reach out to boys aged 14 to 17, building trust before requesting explicit images. Then, the threats begin.

With AI tools, scammers can take a victim’s face and realistically superimpose it onto explicit content, even if no such image existed. The threat isn’t just exposure. It’s psychological warfare. Victims feel trapped, ashamed and alone. The FBI reports a rising wave of such cases, driven by increased screen time and underage social media access. Nearly 40% of children aged 8 to 12 are already online. That access can quickly become a gateway to exploitation.

4. Romance Scams

One of the oldest and most ruthless cons is the romance scam. It starts with a charming message on a dating app or social platform. The scammer has a convincing profile, a sincere tone and all the correct answers. The connection deepens quickly. Then comes the crisis — a medical emergency, stranded overseas or a sudden business opportunity — and then ask for money.

Nearly 70,000 people fell for these scams in 2021, resulting in $1.14 billion in losses. But the financial toll is only part of the damage. Victims, often older adults or the recently widowed, experience profound emotional betrayal. 

5. Online Shopping Scams

The convenience of online shopping comes with the growing risk of deception. Scammers use fake storefronts, bogus delivery alerts and panic-inducing messages to steal money or sensitive data.

Parcel Delivery Scams

Victims receive a message saying their package is stuck, delayed, or needs a payment before release. The link looks legitimate, and they click. And just like that, malware is installed, or their personal details are harvested.

Card-Declined Scams

Other scams lure you to lookalike shopping sites. After entering your credit card, you get a message that your card is declined, prompting you to try again with another card — unknowingly exposing multiple credentials.

Authorised Push Payment Scams

Authorized Push Payment fraud involves deceiving individuals into making real-time payments to criminals, often through impersonation or urgent requests. Victims believe they’re paying a legitimate party, but the funds are sent directly to the scammer.

How to Spot a Scam

Scams are becoming more sophisticated, but a keen eye and alertness are key to recognizing red flags before you become a victim. 

1. Unsolicited or Urgent Messages

Whether via email, SMS or phone call, most scams begin with an unexpected message claiming the need for urgent action, such as verifying your identity, rescheduling a delivery or transferring funds. Be skeptical of any communication that pressures you to act quickly or threatens negative consequences.

2. Requests for Sensitive Information

A real bank or government agency won’t ask you for your password, banking info or ID numbers through a random email or text. If a message does, it’s almost certainly a scam.

3. Inconsistencies in URLs or Domains

Hover over links before clicking. Look for subtle misspellings, extra characters or suspicious domain names like “.co” instead of “.com.” Fake websites often closely resemble real ones, but slight discrepancies reveal the fraud.

4. Grammar and Formatting Errors

Many scammers use publicly available tools like ChatGPT to craft messages faster. However, even with AI, they don’t always get the language right. If a message feels off or contains unnatural phrasing, odd punctuation or inconsistent branding, don’t trust its face value. Always verify communications with official websites or contacts before responding.

5. Too-Good-to-Be-True Offers

Discounts that are unusually steep, unexpected refunds, exclusive event invites from celebrities or investment opportunities promising high returns are likely traps. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Know How to Outsmart Hackers

Scams in today’s digital world don’t always come with broken English and far-fetched promises. They arrive as polished emails from your bank, believable calls from your boss or convincing messages from someone you thought you knew. What changed is not just the technology behind these schemes — it’s the precision. Scammers now exploit emotion, urgency and even your daily routines to get what they want. In a world that can fake almost anything, your best defense is still human judgment.