For the first time in a quarter century, the FBI's report includes a section on AI scams, with losses nearing one billion dollars. Meanwhile, a former agent admitted to stealing one million dollars in cryptocurrency.
This year's FBI report on online crime, released on August 4, 2026, brings a significant development. After a quarter of a century, among the categories of crime, a section dedicated exclusively to artificial intelligence has appeared for the first time, confirming that it has become a tool for mass crime, as reported by HOP Portal.
Reported financial losses linked to scams using artificial intelligence have reached $893 million. This figure, as the FBI warns, is likely underestimated because it only includes victims who realized they were deceived by a machine, not a human. "When a scam is well-executed, the victim remains convinced that everything was real," the report's analysis states.
The data shows that the elderly are the hardest hit. The number of complaints from citizens over sixty has risen by 37% in just one year, while their losses have jumped by as much as 59%. The FBI highlights that artificial intelligence industrializes old forms of scams, allowing criminals to target a large number of victims simultaneously. "In the past, a scammer would follow one person, and now they follow five hundred, each with a different story written by a machine," the report describes.
Among the most common types of scams are fake business emails with instructions for bank transfers, cloned phone calls, fake bank customer support, and romance scams. There's also the well-known 'relative in distress' scheme, where the scammer falsely poses as a relative in trouble, which now, with the help of AI, takes on new, more convincing forms. All these methods are now being carried out on an unprecedented scale.
However, there is also good news. The FBI has managed to freeze $679 million in stolen funds. They emphasize that for a successful recovery of money, it is crucial to report the scam immediately, within hours, not days. The report also mentions the Italian Postal Police, whose expertise in combating this type of crime is recognized even in the U.S.
The FBI advises that today, unfortunately, suspicion has become the norm in online communication. A perfectly crafted email should be a red flag, and a familiar voice asking for money should always be verified by calling a number already in your contacts, not the one from which the call came.
On the same day the report was released, U.S. television network NBC, citing its sources, reported that former FBI agent Patrick Yarok admitted to stealing one million dollars from cryptocurrency wallets linked to Russia. This case further underscores the complexity of fighting high-tech crime, which increasingly involves digital currencies.
