Welcome to the 21st century, where scammers have not only evolved but teamed up with artificial intelligence to become even more ruthless! Forget the old tricks — now they use technology that can mimic the voice of your daughter or grandchild in a perfect tone of panic and urgency. Imagine this: a pensioner receives a voice message from an allegedly injured daughter urgently asking for a huge sum of money for surgery. The heart tightens, and the money flies straight into the scammers’ hands.
Psychologist Dobrivoje Radovanović and former police officer Dejan Radenković warn that scammers have become smarter, targeting mostly older people who are lonely and technologically illiterate. Biljana Kordić, a pensioner herself, points out that older people lack proper education and are often left to fend for themselves, making them easy prey.
Ljubomir Kljajić, an AI regulation expert, emphasizes that artificial intelligence is a double-edged sword — while it brings many benefits, it also opens doors to new types of crime. Scammers use generative AI to create fake voice messages and video content, making it harder to spot fraud.
Investigations show that most scammers come from neighboring countries, and many reports never reach the police because people give up or don’t know whom to turn to. Emotions are scammers’ best ally — panic and fear of losing loved ones make people react quickly and send money.
This type of fraud is not just an individual problem but a societal one. In the digital communication era, where messages arrive in a split second, the risk of fake information and scams is higher than ever. Urgent education and development of defense systems are needed because AI will only continue to evolve and bring new challenges.
So next time your “daughter” or “grandchild” asks for money via a voice message, pause and ask yourself — is it really them? And don’t be shy to ask, because in this digital age, doubt is your best defense. If you have a crazy scam story or have already fallen for some AI trick, share it in the comments — let’s laugh or freak out together, but at least be prepared!
