Caught in the AI Scam: How Hackers are Using Video Calls to Deceive You

This week, I was sitting in my car at my younger son’s soccer practice when my phone pinged with a Facebook message. It was from a friend who lives in another state, asking for my cell number.

As a former detective, I operate on code red pretty much every day. My gut told me this wasn’t right, but I decided to play along to see how the scam unfolded. What happened next shocked me.

A Familiar Face—But Something Wasn’t Right

Moments after I shared my number, I received a Facebook video call from my friend Hank. This was the first major red flag.

I answered.

On the screen, I saw Hank in a dimly lit car. The background was blurry, making it hard to tell exactly where he was. His lips moved, but no sound came out. After 27 seconds—just enough time to convince me it was him—the call ended. But i wasnt convicned!

Then came a Facebook message:

"I can’t hear you, my phone is messing up."

That’s when the ask followed:

"Will you be able to loan me $200? I’ll pay you back tomorrow before 11 AM with $45 interest."

My detective instincts were already screaming SCAM! If you’re American, you might not notice this, but as a Brit, I’ve always found it funny that Americans say "borrow me" instead of "loan me." Hank wouldn’t say that. A hacker would.

A New Level of Deception

I immediately messaged Hank to tell him his Facebook had been hacked.

When I later told friends about this scam, they were just as alarmed as I was. We’ve all seen those "Can you send me money?" scam messages pop up in Facebook Messenger. But this? This was something new.

This was AI-powered video deception.

The scammer used a deepfake video—not perfect, but convincing enough—to show Hank’s face moving in real time. When there was no voice, they covered it up with the "my sound isn’t working" excuse before dropping the financial request.

The Future of Scams: What This Means for You

This is the first time I’ve personally seen an AI-generated scam like this, and I doubt it will be the last. Scammers are adapting—they know people ignore suspicious messages, so now they’re escalating to video calls to gain credibility.

So, what can you do?

Stay skeptical. If something feels off, trust your instincts. Verify directly. Call or text your friend outside of the platform they messaged you on. Educate your network. The more people know about these tactics, the harder they are to pull off.

As AI gets more sophisticated, we need to become more aware.

Keep your head on a swivel—it’s a crazy world out there.

(Just for fun i used AI to generate the headline picture)