Impersonation scam
Also called imposter scam, impostor scam, safe account scam
A scam where the caller or sender pretends to be someone you trust: your bank, the police, a tax office or a well-known company.
Impersonation is the most common shape a scam takes. Americans reported losing 3 and a half billion dollars to imposters in 2025. The usual opening is a call from the "fraud team", the "police" or the "tax office", often with the right number showing on the phone.
The script borrows the organisation's authority to rush you. Your account is compromised, there's a warrant, you owe a penalty. The fix they offer always involves you doing something: moving money, reading out a code, installing an app.
AI has added the voice. Fraudsters use convincing AI voices to sound like a bank or the police, and the FBI has warned of AI-generated voice messages posing as senior US officials. The defence doesn't depend on the voice at all: hang up and call the organisation yourself, on a number you found.
For example
"This is your bank's fraud team. Your account is under attack; move your savings to this safe account while we fix it."
Put it to use
Where you'll meet impersonation scam in ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude, how to use it there, and the mix-up most people make.
Daily Bytes Plus is in the Android app.