📍 Where you are in the curriculum: Week 6 of 12

You've learned to spot phishing (Week 4) and social engineering tricks (Week 5). This week, we tackle the most advanced threats: AI-powered scams, deepfakes, and voice cloning — attacks so sophisticated that your critical evaluation skills from Week 2 become essential.

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Scams Have Evolved — Have You?

Remember when scams were just badly-spelled emails from a "Nigerian prince"? Yeah... those days are long gone.

Today's scams are sophisticated, personalized, and increasingly powered by AI. They show up in your DMs, your feeds, your email, and even your phone calls. And they're specifically designed to target people your age.

The Scam Economy

Online scamming isn't just some random person being annoying — it's a multi-billion-dollar criminal industry. The FBI warns ↗ that AI is supercharging scam techniques. In 2025, Americans lost over $12 billion to online scams. And teens are one of the fastest-growing target demographics because:

• 📱 You're constantly online
• 💰 Some teens have access to payment methods (allowance apps, gift cards, parents' cards saved on devices)
• 😊 You're more likely to trust online strangers
• 🤫 You're less likely to report scams to adults

Common Scam Categories

1. Phishing & Account Theft

Fake login pages, fake DMs from "support," and credential-stealing links. These target gaming accounts (Roblox, Steam, Epic), social media (Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat), and email.

2. Advance Fee Fraud

"You won! Just pay $5 shipping to claim your prize!" or "Send $20 to unlock your $500 giveaway." You send money first and get nothing in return.

3. Investment & Crypto Scams

"This altcoin is about to 100x!" or "I turned $50 into $5,000 — here's how." Pump-and-dump schemes, fake NFT projects, and rug pulls target teens on Discord and TikTok.

4. Impersonation Scams

Scammers pretend to be someone you trust — a friend, a brand, a celebrity, or even a family member — using stolen photos, hacked accounts, or AI-generated content.

5. Sextortion

One of the most dangerous scams targeting teens. Scammers use fake profiles, AI-generated images, or hacked photos to threaten, blackmail, or manipulate. We'll cover this more in the deepfakes section.

🎯 Understanding the scam landscape is your first line of defense. Scammers rely on you NOT knowing their playbook.