If it seems that we update you quite regularly about the latest scams being perpetrated against older adults, you’re right: That’s because the number and sophistication of scams out there continue to evolve and even the most educated and informed have trouble keeping up and staying safe. With the enormous strides being made with artificial intelligence, mere mortals can barely discern what’s legitimate and what’s a fraud.

It seems that both the “old” scams (such as the grandparent scam) and newer scams (such as fraudsters impersonating fraud departments at banks!) are utilizing sophisticated AI technology to make it more challenging to identify them as scams. For example, with new technology, it’s possible to create more authentic-sounding voices to fool you into thinking you’re speaking with a grandchild when you get a call purporting to be from that child. Next Avenue reports that all scammers need is 3 seconds of that child’s actual voice to clone it for purposes of using it in a scam. Similarly, a recent article in The New York Times reported that “deepfake” voices, developed with artificial intelligence to mimic the voices of real people, are now being used to get around fraud detection software and strategies in order to raid personal bank accounts. It’s now easy and relatively cheap to find the voices of people on the internet (Have you given a public speech? Uploaded a video on which you speak on one of your social media accounts?) and simulate them with such accuracy that they can often evade fraud detection and gain access to your money. Word to the wise? Don’t give anyone the opportunity to clone your voice by putting it out on the internet.

Even those who are capable of handling their own affairs can be duped into giving out personal information, allowing scammers to gain access to money or other private information. A recent behavioral experiment out of the Rush Memory and Aging Project underscores this threat. Publishing their findings in JAMA Network Open, researchers identified 644 older adults (average age of 85) who were cognitively intact. The researchers created a fictitious government agency and sought to engage these adults in a scam by using mail, email, and phone to see how vulnerable they were to falling for a scam. While 68% of the “participants” did not engage at all with the researchers, and 15% engaged but were “skeptical” and did not give out any private information, approximately 16% did engage with the fictitious government agents and revealed private information that would have allowed scammers to perpetrate a fraud against them. The researchers’ conclusion? “Many more older adults than currently recognized, including many without cognitive impairment, actively engage with potentially fraudulent pitches and are at risk of victimization and the deleterious health and financial consequences that result.” To find out more about this study and its implications, lock up your bank books and click here and here.

So it seems your best defense, short of perfecting your own AI skills, may be to make sure you and your older loved ones are as aware as possible of what scams may be out there. Whether it’s a warning not to fall for a charity appeal after a natural disaster to being duped into believing you can invest in a Hollywood blockbuster, your antennae should always be up because someone is always trying to separate you from your money and these days, they’re using sophisticated technology to pull off their heist. There are commonly recommended methods of limiting your vulnerability (use strong passwords, never click on an unsolicited link, and always verify the validity of websites you discover) but the bottom line is that even the most savvy of us can fall for a fraud if we’re not careful. For some additional sources of guidance and help if you find yourself on the losing end of a scam, protect your identity by reading here, here, and here.