AI impersonation scams cost Americans at least $893.3 million in 2025, according to 22,364 AI-related complaints in the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report, and the true figure is higher because victims rarely know AI was involved. Wider impersonation fraud is far larger: the FTC counted over $3.5 billion in imposter-scam losses, and the FBI counted $797.9 million in government impersonation losses.
AI Impersonation Scams in the US 2026 – Introduction
AI Impersonation Scams in the US 2026 now have official numbers. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center added an artificial intelligence label to its annual report for the first time, and the 2025 edition, released in April 2026, logged 22,364 AI-related complaints with $893,346,472 in losses. Scammers use cloned voices, fake video of officials and chat-generated scripts to pose as relatives, bankers, agents and executives. This report separates audited government data from vendor claims and shows who loses the money.
Measurement is the hard part. The FBI counts only complaints that mention AI, and most victims never learn how a call was faked. The FTC counts impersonation without an AI label. Security vendors publish surge percentages that cannot be compared. This report leads with the FBI and FTC figures, adds survey data where it helps and marks every estimate that is this report’s own math.
Interesting Facts About AI Impersonation Scams in the US 2026
HEADLINE LOSSES, 2025 (USD millions, 1 block = $100M)
FTC imposter scams |███████████████████████████████████ 3,500
FBI government imperson. |████████ 798
FBI AI-related, all types|█████████ 893
FBI AI investment scams |██████▎ 632
| Interesting Fact | 2025 Data (Reported 2026) |
|---|---|
| FBI AI-related complaints | 22,364 |
| FBI AI-related reported losses | $893,346,472 |
| All FBI cyber-enabled losses | $20.877 billion (up 26%) |
| Government impersonation losses | $797.9 million (32,424 complaints) |
| Voice-clone “distress” scam losses | Over $5 million |
| FTC imposter-scam reports | Over 1 million, with $3.5 billion lost |
| Americans who got a deepfake voice call | 1 in 4 (Hiya survey) |
| Share of AI-linked losses in investment scams | 70.8% (report math) |
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 Internet Crime Report (April 2026); FTC testimony to the Joint Economic Committee (25 March 2026); Hiya State of the Call 2026.
The FBI data is the only audited AI figure. Its 22,364 AI complaints make up 2.2% of all 1,008,597 complaints, yet its $893.3 million equals 4.3% of all losses. The average AI complaint lost about $39,900, nearly double the overall average of $20,699. AI scams cost more per victim.
The FBI warns that these totals understate the problem. Investment complaints with an AI link lost $632 million, while all investment complaints lost over $8 billion. Many victims do not realize a voice, video or chat partner was synthetic. Survey figures such as the 1 in 4 deepfake call rate measure exposure, not losses.
AI Scam Losses in the US 2026: FBI Complaint Data by Crime Type
FBI AI-RELATED LOSSES BY CRIME TYPE, 2025 (USD millions, 1 block = $20M)
Investment |████████████████████████████████ 632.0
Business email |█▌ 30.3
Tech/customer support|█ 19.5
Confidence/romance |█ 19.0
Personal data breach |█ 18.8
Employment |▌ 12.6
Gov. impersonation |▎ 7.1
| Crime Type | AI-Related Loss | Share of AI Total |
|---|---|---|
| Investment | $632.0 million | 70.8% |
| Business email compromise | $30.3 million | 3.4% |
| Tech/customer support | $19.5 million | 2.2% |
| Confidence/romance | $19.0 million | 2.1% |
| Personal data breach | $18.8 million | 2.1% |
| Employment | $12.6 million | 1.4% |
| Government impersonation | $7.1 million | 0.8% |
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 Internet Crime Report, Artificial Intelligence section (April 2026). Shares calculated by this report.
Investment fraud dominates AI losses at 70.8%. The FBI says investment clubs use AI-generated videos and voices of celebrities, executives and trusted figures to create fake endorsements, and AI lets scammers run thousands of chats that each look unique. Crypto features in $658.7 million of AI-linked losses.
Impersonation scams that sound smaller carry real harm. Business email compromise with AI cost businesses $30.3 million, and romance scams with a likely AI link cost $19.0 million. Grandparent-style “distress” scams, where a cloned voice mimics a loved one, cost victims over $5 million. The FBI says these scams now copy other relatives and friends too.
Deepfake Voice Calls in the US 2026: Survey and Call-Center Data
DEEPFAKE VOICE EXPOSURE, US 2026 (percent, 1 block = 5 points)
Got a deepfake voice call (12 months) |█████ 25%
Not confident spotting deepfake scam |███████ 35%
Experienced a voice-clone scam |██ 10%
| Measure | Finding | Source Type |
|---|---|---|
| Americans with a deepfake voice call, past 12 months | 1 in 4 | Hiya survey |
| Americans who say scammers beat carriers | About 2 to 1 | Hiya survey |
| Americans who experienced a voice-clone scam | 1 in 10 | McAfee survey |
| Not confident spotting a deepfake scam | 35% | McAfee survey |
| Rise in deepfake activity in call centers, 2024 | 680% | Pindrop, 1.2 billion calls |
| Voice-clone “distress” scam losses | Over $5 million | FBI |
Source: Hiya, State of the Call 2026 (March 2026); McAfee, State of the Scamiverse 2026; Pindrop 2025 Voice Intelligence and Security Report; FBI 2025 Internet Crime Report.
Survey numbers show wide exposure and modest confirmed loss. Hiya found 1 in 4 Americans received a deepfake voice call in the past year, and McAfee found 1 in 10 experienced a voice-clone scam. The FBI’s confirmed distress-scam losses are only over $5 million, so most calls fail or go unreported. Exposure far exceeds reported damage.
Vendor surge figures need care. Pindrop reports a 680% rise in deepfake activity in 2024 across 1.2 billion calls, and says attempts rose from about one a month to seven a day in monitored call centers. Those counts cover bank and retail phone lines, not household calls. Claims such as “$1.8 billion lost to voice cloning” have no primary source.
Government Impersonation Scams in the US 2026: Complaints and Losses
FBI GOVERNMENT IMPERSONATION LOSSES (USD millions, 1 block = $25M)
2023 |███████████████▊ 394.1
2024 |████████████████▎ 405.6
2025 |████████████████████████████████ 797.9
| Year | Complaints | Reported Losses | Average per Complaint |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 14,190 | $394,050,518 | About $27,800 |
| 2024 | 17,367 | $405,624,084 | About $23,400 |
| 2025 | 32,424 | $797,943,193 | About $24,600 |
| Change, 2024 to 2025 | +86.7% | +96.7% | +5.4% |
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 Internet Crime Report (April 2026). Averages and changes calculated by this report.
Complaints and losses nearly doubled in one year. The FBI recorded 32,424 government impersonation complaints in 2025, up 86.7% from 17,367, and losses rose 96.7% to $797.9 million. AI appears in only 260 of these complaints and $7.1 million of losses, so most of the growth comes from classic phone, text and spoofing tactics.
AI tools add to a larger scheme. The FBI warned in 2025 that criminals impersonated senior US officials in messaging campaigns, and in July 2026 it warned of AI-generated videos of FBI leaders promoting fake IC3 complaint sites. Gold courier scams, where couriers collect cash or metals from victims of tech support and government impersonation, drew about 725 complaints and $311.8 million, roughly $430,000 each.
Impersonation Scams Reported to the FTC in 2026: Imposter Fraud Data
FTC REPORTED LOSSES, 2025 (USD billions, 1 block = $0.5B)
Total fraud |████████████████████████████████ 15.9
Investment scams |████████████████ 7.9
Imposter scams |███████ 3.5
Business impersonators|██ 1.0
| FTC Measure (2025) | Value |
|---|---|
| Total fraud reports | About 3 million |
| Total reported fraud losses | $15.9 billion (up from $12.5 billion) |
| Imposter-scam reports | Over 1 million (top category for 5 years) |
| Imposter-scam losses | Over $3.5 billion |
| Imposter reports with no money lost | About 80% |
| Business impersonator losses | About $1 billion (banks lead) |
| Reporters who lost $100,000 or more | 3%, totaling $11 billion (69%) |
Source: Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Sentinel Network, testimony to the Joint Economic Committee (25 March 2026); FTC Protecting Older Consumers 2025-2026.
Imposters generate the most reports but not the most losses. The FTC logged over 1 million imposter reports and $3.5 billion in losses, while investment scams took $7.9 billion. About 80% of imposter reports involved no loss, so the remaining 20% lost roughly $17,500 each on this report’s rough math. Business impersonators took about $1 billion, led by fake bank staff.
Big losses carry the totals. Only 3% of reporters lost $100,000 or more, yet they account for $11 billion, or 69% of all reported loss. The FTC says reported fraud losses are up nearly 430% since 2020 and reflect only a fraction of actual harm. Government impostors posing as the FTC, Social Security and the FBI lead phone-based losses among older adults.
Who Loses Money to AI Impersonation Scams in 2026: Victims by Age
FBI GOV. IMPERSONATION LOSSES BY AGE (USD millions, 1 block = $10M)
Under 20 |▉ 8.6
20-29 |█████ 50.4
30-39 |████████ 82.0
40-49 |█████▌ 55.0
50-59 |████████▌ 84.5
60+ |█████████████████████████████████████████ 413.2
| Age Group | Government Impersonation Loss | Share of Age-Reported Loss |
|---|---|---|
| Under 20 | $8.6 million | 1.2% |
| 20-29 | $50.4 million | 7.3% |
| 30-39 | $82.0 million | 11.8% |
| 40-49 | $55.0 million | 7.9% |
| 50-59 | $84.5 million | 12.2% |
| 60+ | $413.2 million | 59.6% |
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 Internet Crime Report (April 2026); FBI IC3 Elder Fraud section. Shares calculated by this report from age-reported losses.
Older Americans lose the most. People aged 60 and over account for 59.6% of government impersonation losses where age was reported, and the FBI says this group filed 201,266 complaints across all crime types with $7.748 billion in losses, a 59% jump. The average older victim lost $38,500, and 12,444 lost more than $100,000. Readers can compare this with elder fraud statistics in the US.
AI follows the same pattern. Older victims filed 3,143 AI-related complaints, 14.1% of the AI total, but lost $352.5 million, or 39.5% of AI losses. That is about $112,000 per complaint, nearly three times the AI average. The FTC separately found that people 60 and over reported over $3 billion in fraud losses in 2025, compared with about $600 million in 2020.
Business Impersonation and Deepfake Executive Fraud in the US 2026
IMPERSONATION-LINKED LOSSES, 2025 (USD millions, 1 block = $100M)
Business email compromise |██████████████████████████████ 3,047
Tech/customer support |█████████████████████ 2,135
FTC business impersonators|██████████ 1,000
Gov. impersonation |████████ 798
Employment fraud |████ 363
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Business email compromise losses | $3.047 billion (24,768 complaints) |
| BEC losses with an AI link | $30.3 million (135 complaints) |
| Employment fraud losses | $362.9 million |
| Employment losses with an AI link | $12.6 million (691 complaints) |
| Organizations hit by a deepfake attack | 62% (Gartner survey of 302 leaders) |
| Arup deepfake video call, Hong Kong | $25.6 million |
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 Internet Crime Report; FTC Consumer Sentinel Network; Gartner survey (September 2025); CrowdStrike 2025 Global Threat Report.
Business fraud is where AI impersonation looks most dangerous but costs least so far. Total BEC losses reached $3.047 billion, and only $30.3 million carried an AI link. Chat tools write convincing executive emails, and voice cloning can request a wire. The best-known case is Arup, which lost $25.6 million after an employee joined a video call where every other participant was fake.
Hiring scams use deepfakes for access, not cash. The FBI describes voice spoofing in online job interviews, where lip movement and sounds do not match the audio, and says the goal is often entry to company networks. AI-involved employment scams cost almost $13 million in 2025. See employment scam statistics in the US for the wider job-fraud picture.
Top US States for Cyber Fraud Losses 2026: Where Scam Victims Report the Most
FBI REPORTED LOSSES BY STATE, 2025 (USD millions, 1 block = $100M)
California |█████████████████████████████████████ 3,675
Texas |██████████████████ 1,826
Florida |████████████████ 1,596
New York |████████████ 1,226
New Jersey |███████ 660
| State | Complaints | Reported Losses | Average per Complaint |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 116,414 | $3,674,716,305 | About $31,600 |
| Texas | 97,912 | $1,825,636,181 | About $18,600 |
| Florida | 71,843 | $1,596,138,595 | About $22,200 |
| New York | 45,255 | $1,226,307,877 | About $27,100 |
| New Jersey | 20,648 | $660,411,901 | About $32,000 |
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 Internet Crime Report, state statistics (April 2026). Averages and shares calculated by this report.
These figures cover every complaint type, not only impersonation, because the FBI does not publish an AI breakdown by state. California alone reported $3.67 billion, or 17.6% of the national $20.877 billion. The five states in the table together account for 43.0% of all reported losses. Texas files many complaints but reports a lower average of about $18,600, while New Jersey’s complaints average about $32,000.
Population changes the ranking. Per 100,000 residents, the District of Columbia leads at $14.0 million in losses, followed by California at $9.3 million and Nevada at $9.2 million. Older residents carry much of the loss: Californians aged 60 and over reported $1.40 billion, Floridians $709.8 million and Texans $678.6 million. Impersonation scammers target every state, so local police and banks see the same scripts.
Reporting and Recovering Money After AI Impersonation Scams in the US 2026
FBI FINANCIAL FRAUD KILL CHAIN, 2025 (USD millions, 1 block = $50M)
Attempted theft |███████████████████████ 1,163.9
Frozen funds |█████████████▌ 679.0
| Recovery or Protection Measure | 2025 or 2026 Data |
|---|---|
| Fund-freeze incidents started by the FBI | 3,900 |
| Attempted theft in those incidents | $1,163,919,846 |
| Funds frozen | $679,013,183 (58% success rate) |
| Incidents involving victims aged 60+ | 642, with $32.9 million frozen |
| Operation Level Up victims notified, 2025 | 3,780, 78% unaware of the scam |
| States with deepfake laws | 47 of 50 |
Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 Internet Crime Report; Ballotpedia and MultiState legislative trackers (2026); FTC Impersonation Rule (April 2024).
Speed decides recovery. When victims reported quickly, the FBI’s fund-freeze process froze $679.0 million of $1.16 billion in attempted theft, a 58% success rate. The FBI tells victims to call their bank at once, ask for a recall and file at its IC3 site, whatever the amount. Operation Level Up told 3,780 crypto-fraud victims in 2025, and 78% did not know they were being scammed.
Rules now cover impersonation too. The FTC’s impersonation rule took effect in April 2024, and the FCC ruled in February 2024 that AI-generated voices in robocalls fall under the law on artificial voices. Forty-seven states have deepfake-specific laws. For more on how fast fraud tied to AI is growing, see AI fraud statistics.
AI Impersonation Scams FAQ 2026
How much money do Americans lose to AI impersonation scams in 2026?
The FBI recorded at least $893.3 million in AI-related losses across 22,364 complaints for 2025. Government impersonation added $797.9 million, and FTC imposter scams reached $3.5 billion. These overlap and undercount.
How common are deepfake voice calls in the US in 2026?
Hiya found 1 in 4 Americans received a deepfake voice call in the past year. McAfee found 1 in 10 experienced a voice-clone scam. Confirmed losses are far smaller than exposure.
What is a government impersonation scam in 2026?
A scammer poses as an agency such as the FTC, Social Security or the FBI to collect money. The FBI logged 32,424 complaints and $797.9 million in losses in 2025.
Who is most at risk from AI impersonation scams in 2026?
Adults aged 60 and over. They filed 3,143 AI-related complaints and lost $352.5 million, 39.5% of the AI total.
Are the “$1.8 billion voice cloning” scam figures real?
No primary source supports that figure. The FBI’s total for every AI category combined is $893.3 million. Use audited FBI and FTC data.
How can you check a suspicious call in 2026?
Hang up and call back on a number you already trust. The FBI advises families to agree on a secret word, and to never send crypto, gift cards or cash to a caller.
How do you report an AI impersonation scam in 2026?
Call your bank first, then file at the FBI’s IC3 site and the FTC’s ReportFraud site. Fast reports helped freeze 58% of attempted theft in 2025.
Why do AI scam statistics differ in 2026?
The FBI counts complaints that mention AI. The FTC counts all imposter reports. Vendors measure call-center attacks or surveys. Each method has different limits.
Disclaimer: The data research report we present here is based on information found from various sources. We are not liable for any financial loss, errors, or damages of any kind that may result from the use of the information herein. We acknowledge that though we try to report accurately, we cannot verify the absolute facts of everything that has been represented.
