For the first time in 25 years, the FBI's report includes a section dedicated to artificial intelligence, with acknowledged damages of nearly one billion dollars. Meanwhile, a former agent admitted to stealing one million dollars in crypto.
In the FBI's annual report on online crime, released on August 4, 2026, a special section on artificial intelligence appears for the first time in a quarter of a century. This officially confirms that AI has become a tool for mass crime, as reported by HOP Portal.
Acknowledged financial losses from AI-driven scams have reached $893 million. The FBI warns that this figure is likely higher, as 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 hardest hit are the elderly. 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 AI industrializes old scams, allowing criminals to target a large number of victims simultaneously. "In the past, a scammer would track one person, and now they track five hundred, each with a different story written by a machine," the report describes.
Among the most common types of fraud 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 'nephew in distress' scheme, where the scammer impersonates a relative in trouble, which now takes on new, more convincing forms with the help of artificial intelligence. 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 such 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 crypto wallets linked to Russia. This case further underscores the complexity of fighting high-tech crime, which increasingly involves digital currencies.
