Cybersafety: How to protect yourself against AI scams, online fakes and frauds

*Experts offer some practical ways to protect yourself against a new type of scam that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in which online scammers or fraudsters can impersonate your family, friends and colleagues, using AI tech tools to ask you for money, personal information, or other benefits

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

As modern technologies progress and the global world changes, consumers have been urged to keep up to date with the newest types of scams that may target them in the digital space.

ConsumerConnect gathered that a type of scam uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.

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In practical terms, scammers can impersonate your family and friends, using AI technology to ask you for money or personal information.

They do this by manipulating videos and recordings found on social media to produce realistic sounding voice recordings or even videos, a report said.

These are called voice cloning or deepfakes. During these scams, you’ll typically receive a call from what sounds like a panicked loved one asking for money.

Recent consumer experience in Nigeria’s cyberspace

Artificial Intelligence is said to have been weaponised in Nigeria’s latest wave of Ponzi scams and disinformation in the country’s cyberspace.

Fraud poses a significant threat to the expanding Nigeria Digital Economy, impacting sectors like finance, e-commerce, healthcare, and education.

Traditional methods still struggle to keep pace with evolving fraud schemes, according to reports.

ConsumerConnect reports the digital revolution has indisputably transformed Nigeria, encouraging increased connectedness and accelerating growth in the ecosystem.

The interconnectedness ranges from e-commerce, digital banking, e-learning to telemedicine, through which the digital revolution is empowering Nigerian consumers with tools to bridge infrastructural gaps, access global opportunities, and drive sustainable growth across various sectors.

Despite this apparent transformative impact of the digital revolution in the West African country, investigation has indicated that the development has equally thrown up a significant challenge: an increase in fraud in several sectors of the Nigerian economy, a ScienceDirect report said.

The report noted that AI-related fraud has become a serious concern, endangering not only businesses but also the West African country’s financial stability, affecting everything from e-commerce and healthcare to education.

The consequences of these crimes go far beyond the lives of the specific victims; they affect the basis of the Nigerian economy itself.

It also said corporate establishment and organisations suffered catastrophic losses, customer confidence declines, and there is a general decline in the perception of security associated with digital transactions in recent times.

Likewise, a recent Pulitzer Center investigative report disclosed that fraudsters were using AI-generated dashboards, deepfake endorsements, trading bots, and voice clones to deceive victims at scale.

The report noted that such scams and high-stake misinformation have promised high returns through “automated” trading systems that appeared legitimate but were built on mere illusion.

It further said earlier 2025, one such popular platform in Nigeria’s digital space, Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), collapsed after luring thousands of unwary Nigerian investors into activating a so-called “AI trading feature”.

In the process, reports indicated that several victims lost billions of Naira overnight after fake trades and smooth interfaces gave way to frozen accounts and vanished funds with cries and weeping in its trail.

CBEX, which falsely claimed to be affiliated with the China Beijing Equity Exchange, at the time used AI-generated trading logs, 24/7 bot-run customer service, and fake social media credibility to convince investors that it was legitimate.

CBEX, according to Pulitzer Center, is not alone among classic Ponzi schemes now disguised as generative AI in Nigeria.

Aside from these, other platforms, including PrimeAuroraPlatform, have utilised AI to create interviews with public figures, endorsing their schemes, thereby deepening public trust and expanding their reach in the country, report stated.

The report, therefore, warned that AI is enabling a new breed of fraud in Nigeria, and how scammers are exploiting economic hardship, digital illiteracy, and gaps in regulation to target vulnerable populations.

Signs it’s a voice-cloning scam

You are contacted out of the blue.

You are pressured to act immediately, with no time to think.

The caller is urgently requesting money, usually through a wire transfer, gift card, payment app, or cryptocurrency.

These methods of payment make it nearly impossible to get a refund once you’ve been scammed.

The caller is requesting personal or private information from you.

You are told to keep the caller’s request a secret.

How to respond

Ask questions. Caller ID can be faked. Although a scammer may sound like a loved one, they won’t be able to answer personal questions that only your real loved one would know the answer to.

You can ask them to confirm details that aren’t publicly available.

Be skeptical. Hang up and call the person back, but don’t simply redial the number that called you – call their trusted number.

If you can’t reach that loved one directly, try to reach out through another family member or friend.

Stop and think. Urgency is one of a scammer’s most powerful tools in getting you to do what they want. You can take control of the situation by pausing for a moment to consider the situation rationally.

Be wary of what you share on social media. Scammers learn information about you and your loved ones through personal information shared online.

Be mindful of the information you share, and make your accounts private so only trusted friends can see your posts.

Report the scam. You can report scams online to the United States (US) Federal Trade Commission (FTC), or Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for assistance.

The FTC and EFCC can use your report to investigate and bring cases against other frauds, scams, and bad business practices.

Signs it’s a deepfake scam

Look for signs of an altered video including jerky or unrealistic movements, shifts in lighting or skin tone, strange or no blinking, and shadows around the eyes.

Listen for inconsistencies. Is the speaker doing something totally out of character, like asking for your money or personal information? Deepfake videos often feature strange word choices, stilted language, and choppy sentences.

The caller requesting money, usually urgently, and through a hard to trace method like a wire transfer, gift card, payment app, or cryptocurrency.

How to respond

React the same way you would any time you think you might be getting scammed. Stop to think and be skeptical of any information. Find a way to research or verify the claims in the video.

Flag the video. If you see this video on social media, you should report it to the platform.

Report the scam. You can report scams online to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the US.

The FTC will use your report to investigate and bring cases against other frauds, scams, and bad business practices.

For instance, there is New York City’s Action Plan on this, according to report.

AI is a powerful tool that allows computers to learn and perform tasks previously only performed by humans.

This technology is being used across several industries, including healthcare, banking, and transportation.

You can read the City’s Action Plan for Artificial Intelligence to learn more about how AI works, and how New York City is particularly, using the technology to responsibly create a better future for consumers in the global digital ecosystem.

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