AI scams cost military families $200M in 2024, advocacy group warns

AI-powered scams targeting U.S. military families cost victims nearly $200 million in 2024, according to a Veterans and Military Families advocacy group warning. The surge in artificial intelligence-enabled fraud represents a growing threat to service members and their families, who are increasingly vulnerable to sophisticated deception tactics that leverage AI’s ability to create convincing fake communications and impersonations.

Why this matters: Military families face unique vulnerabilities to scams due to frequent deployments, financial stress, and their often-public service records that scammers can exploit to build credible fake personas.

The scale of the problem: The $200 million figure represents losses from 2024 alone, highlighting how AI has amplified both the reach and effectiveness of military-targeted fraud schemes.

• Traditional romance scams, investment fraud, and fake emergency calls have become more convincing with AI-generated voices and personalized messaging.
• Military families’ personal information is often more accessible through public records, making them easier targets for AI-powered social engineering attacks.

How AI enables these scams: Artificial intelligence tools allow fraudsters to create highly personalized and believable deception campaigns at unprecedented scale.

• Voice cloning technology can replicate the voices of service members to trick family members into believing emergency situations.
• AI-generated content helps scammers craft convincing military-themed investment opportunities and romance profiles.
• Machine learning algorithms help fraudsters identify and target military families through social media and public databases.

In plain English: Think of AI as giving scammers a sophisticated toolkit that works like having a master impersonator, a skilled writer, and a private investigator all rolled into one. The voice cloning acts like a perfect mimic who can sound exactly like your deployed spouse, while the content generation is like having a con artist who knows exactly what military families want to hear, and the targeting algorithms work like a detective who can dig through online information to find the most vulnerable families.

What families should know: The advocacy group emphasizes the importance of verification and skepticism when receiving unexpected communications, especially those requesting money or personal information.

• Service members and families should establish code words or verification methods for emergency communications.
• Military families should be particularly cautious of investment opportunities that specifically target veterans or promise military-related benefits.