AI Scams Are Getting Personal—Here’s How to Protect Yourself

AI was supposed to make our lives easier, right? Help us write emails, edit pictures, maybe even give us “outfit inspo.” Some people extend that helping hand to give them life advice, schedule their day-to-day, and even help them with job applications. But here’s the flip side: scammers have caught on, and they’re using the same tech to trick us, because we voluntarily hand out our information to the digital world. From fake voices that sound exactly like your cousin, to WhatsApps that feel way too real, South Africans are getting caught in AI traps every day. The scary part? It looks legit. The good news? Once you know the signs, you’ll never fall for it.

News companies aren’t even safe. On August 11th 2025, The Daily Maverick put out an article about the recent AI scam that fooled their entire newsroom. According to journalist Yeshiel Panchia, “…several members of Daily Maverick’s newsroom received WhatsApp messages from someone claiming to be a senior company figure. The name and profile picture matched perfectly. The message received by this journalist read as follows: ‘I’m currently in a very critical meeting and I can’t take calls at the moment. I need you to run a very quick urgent task for me… I need you to initiate a transfer to a prospect of mine. You will be reimbursed’.”

Luckily, journalists are natural skeptics and don’t believe what they see upon first glance, they require digging deeper to get below the surface, to the core (truth) of a story, before they go ahead believing it, and due to this natural-born scepticism, they quickly found out it was an AI impersonator and reported it to the SAFPS immediately. The South African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) is a non-profit organisation that tracks scams and offers protective services against fraud.

As a person just trying to go about their day, it can be difficult and increasingly more challenging to think twice before you click anywhere online, an sms or even a WhatsApp. It used to be easy to recognise a number not in your contacts and block them immediately, bonus points for reporting them too, but now if it comes in the voice of a family member, or a message from your personal bank, heck they are even trying to bring Post Offices back by claiming you have a parcel there that has been in storage for months and needs to be cleared immediately if you click the link to pay. Who do you trust? How do you know you are being safe and protecting yourself and your assets?

10 Ways To Protect Yourself Against AI Scams

While guidance from the JSE, SABRIC, and TransUnion Africa is invaluable, but equally intriguing insights come straight from AI. Here are 10 practical steps you can take to protect yourself from increasingly sophisticated AI scams directly from AI:

1. If it sounds too good to be true… it is. Don’t fall for “guaranteed” money schemes.

2. Never click or download an app from a random WhatsApp, SMS, or email link. Only trust your app store.

3. If “your bank” calls you; hang up, breathe, and call the official number yourself.

4. No legit bank will ever ask for your PIN, OTP, or password. Full stop.

5. CEOs are not in your DMs: If you see one promising returns, it’s fake.

6. Report anything dodgy straight away: your bank would rather know sooner than later.

7. Watch out for weird AI videos: glitchy voices, weird accents, off lip-sync, strange expressions. That’s your sign.

8. Scammers love urgency: “invest now, send details now, last chance!” Don’t let them rush you.

9. Protect your socials: strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and don’t overshare personal info.

10. Always fact-check investment opportunities through official sites, not the links they send you.

You heard it straight from the very intelligence that criminals are using to scam you. In life, we must always remember that there is good and bad—the yin and yang, the ancient Chinese philosophy that believes there are light and dark forces that interact and as a result create balance. They perpetuate each other in everything, universally, down to humans and our emotions. With that being said, AI was supposedly one of the best things to happen to humanity. It made our lives significantly easier, but with that comes the challenges, the bad of it—scams, cheating on exams, taking peoples jobs, our cars, and soon enough, it will run the world.

However, as South Africans, we are the most resilient nation. Remember that scammers only win if you let your guard down. Trust your gut, double-check everything, don't be quick to click, and don’t let the rush of “quick cash” cloud your judgment. Protect your money, protect your data, and remember—you’re smarter than the scam.