AI scams are getting more sophisticated, Garland police warn

Scammers are using AI-generated voices, images and messages to impersonate trusted companies and pressure victims into acting quickly.

Garland police are warning that scammers are using artificial intelligence to create more convincing emails, images, videos and even voices to trick victims into handing over personal information or money.

Officer Matthew Pesta with the Garland Police Department said he has received AI-generated scams in his own email claiming to be from companies including iCloud and Coinbase.

"Scammers can utilize AI to generate photos, to generate videos, to generate graphics, or to generate even a voice you know, like a text-to-talk," Pesta said.

Pesta said AI chatbots are also helping scammers become more sophisticated in how they impersonate people and carry on conversations.

"There are options where you can pick a female voice, a male voice, you can pick different dialects and inflection in the person's voice so they can sound super happy and bubbly and outgoing, or they can seem very aggressive and demanding," Pesta said.

While the technology is changing, Pesta said many of the warning signs remain the same. Scammers often create a sense of urgency, demand certain payment methods, tell victims to keep the conversation secret or claim to be from law enforcement.

Pesta said the FBI reported nearly $21 billion in fraud losses in the U.S. in 2025. He said many scams are run by organized criminal enterprises, which can make prosecution difficult, particularly when those responsible are in another country.

"They want you to click on these links specifically in the emails and then once you do, you’re entering in your account username, your password and now they have access to your account."

Pesta is now educating the community about how to recognize AI scams and what to do when one appears.

"The best thing is to not only verify but slow down. If they start putting a bunch of urgency and pressure on you to act now that should be an immediate red flag."

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication.