A 63-year-old deaf former competitive swimmer with a government job and a tidy nest egg, was simply looking for better returns than his 401(k) could offer. Instead, he encountered an advanced AI-powered scam that drained his savings, destroyed his marriage, and left him liable for hundreds of thousands in back taxes and fees from early retirement account withdrawals.

The victim explained how the scam cost him his marriage, assets, and retirement plans. He added that his life had come to a sudden and devastating halt.

How One AI Scam Targeted A Deaf Senior On Facebook

This case followed a now-familiar pattern. A stranger reached out to the unsuspecting victim on Facebook after he made a casual comment about golf. She claimed to be an investor and wholesaler of successful skincare products. The scammer appeared credible, offering photos with doctors, images of product boxes, warehouse visits, and even a Houston business address — all of which seemed legitimate to the victim.

She then introduced him to a platform called PawnFi (later renamed Polarise), depositing $30,000 into his account to gain his trust and “bait the hook.” She continued the interaction by sharing personal photos and details, urging secrecy throughout.

He started investing his own money on PawnFi. Small withdrawals worked. He saw massive seven-figure gains. Then the scam unfolded: he was told he had exceeded the profit limit and needed to pay a $250,000 tax bill out of pocket to access his funds. In total, this single scam cost him around $582,000.

Even The Technically Savvy Can Fall For An AI Scam

This is not an isolated case. According to Chris Groshong and Joseph Albi?ana, co-founders of CoinStructive — a firm that assists victims of digital asset fraud — such incidents are growing rapidly. And the driving force behind this surge? Artificial Intelligence.

“These scammers have evolved,” Groshong said during an interview. “They’re using AI to create hyperreal personas. Video chats. Lip-synced conversations. It’s nothing like it was five years ago when you could easily detect a fake. AI has erased that boundary."

Pig-butchering schemes — long-term cons where trust is built over weeks or months — remain the most prevalent. However, CoinStructive also sees imposter scams, fraudulent firmware updates, romance cons, and task-based scams where victims perform trivial digital tasks before being asked to front money for supposed fees.

Groshong recounted one client — an AI expert — who fell for a convincing video call with someone impersonating a well-known investor. “He lost $1.3 million,” Groshong said. “That was his entire life savings. The scammers used AI against him, and he still can’t believe he was fooled."

The Data Guardian Network is a new initiative focused on AI privacy and security by fostering a community centered on ethical data use and gamification. Johanna Cabildo serves as CEO of DGN. She confirms that AI tools are making these attacks faster and easier to execute, intensifying social engineering and enabling scammers to target a broader audience of digital asset holders.

“AI is also enabling automated threats like wallet-draining scripts that evolve to avoid detection, smart contract exploits refined through reinforcement learning, and airdrop scams designed to mimic legitimate token distributions. One campaign used AI to scan Discord chats, identify users seeking help, and respond with malicious links while posing as ‘support staff’ using human-like replies,” Cabildo replied via text message.

Why AI Scams Are Harder To Spot Than Ever

Groshong noted that the tax-payment trick is a frequently used psychological tactic: “They let you withdraw small sums to build confidence. Then, once the amount grows, they freeze access and demand additional payments." Worse yet, scammers often refer victims to fake “crypto recovery” services — just to extract more money.

According to a recent Statista survey, 72% of respondents believe AI is making scams more sophisticated. Albi?ana supports those findings, emphasizing that AI is amplifying both the scale and precision of these frauds.

“They’re bombarding people with messages,” he explained. “Texts, emails, popups, phone calls. All it takes is one vulnerable moment. And now, thanks to AI, that ‘pretty face’ or ‘video call’ looks and sounds completely authentic."

Even intelligent, cautious individuals fall prey.

“There’s a vulnerability for every person,” Albi?ana said. “Crypto scams aren’t about intelligence. They’re about trust. And AI helps scammers mimic that trust better than ever."

How To Avoid The Next AI Scam

Groshong and Albi?ana provided five practical strategies to help protect yourself:

1. Never send money to anyone promising high returns – especially if they initiated contact.
2. Verify everything, including trading platforms and identities, through independent sources.
3. Avoid platforms that only communicate via encrypted apps like WhatsApp.
4. Be wary of anyone who insists on secrecy, particularly if they discourage discussing things with friends or family.
5. Don’t rely on video calls as proof of identity – AI can manipulate those too.

Cabildo emphasized that avoiding AI scams isn't just about identifying fakes — it's about establishing verifiable trust, especially when dealing with digital assets.

“For individuals, this means treating every direct message and ‘urgent opportunity’ with suspicion. Always verify URLs — it’s a simple step but often overlooked. Projects should implement multi-signature wallets requiring multiple approvals for transactions and adopt AI threat detection tools that flag suspicious on-chain activity like sudden bot-driven token transfers,” she concluded.

If you’ve been scammed or suspect fraudulent behavior, report it immediately to the FTC, IC3, and your local law enforcement. If you need assistance navigating the complex world of digital asset recovery, companies like CoinStructive are trying to help — though even they acknowledge that successful recoveries are rare.

“Out of hundreds of cases,” Groshong said, “only two victims ever recovered their funds. And one of them is still waiting."

For the elderly victim featured at the beginning of this article, the only option is to move forward and rebuild his life after falling victim to an AI scam. Some compassionate individuals helped him launch a fundraising page to keep hope alive. “I’m taking it day by day,” he said. “But differently now. More carefully.”

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