What’s the fastest way to lose $100,000?

A bad investment?

A market crash?

Here’s a more unsettling answer:

Investment scams. The numbers have gotten too high to ignore…

Americans aged 60+ reported losing $7.27 BILLION to cybercrime in 2025 – a 59% increase across 12 months. More than 12,400 victims reported individual losses in excess of $100,000.

In other words, this isn’t petty theft; it’s retirement destruction.

And what’s changing is more than just the scale…

It’s how these losses are happening.

For years, financial scams followed a familiar pattern—

Clumsy emails, obvious red flags, easy tells.

Those days are over.

The FBI now tracks artificial intelligence as a formal crime category for the first time in the IC3’s 25-year history. In 2025, more than 22,000 complaints referenced AI in some way, with reported losses exceeding $893 million.

What does AI-powered fraud actually look like?

Scammers use it to generate thousands of personalized conversations – each one sounding different, each one targeted. Investment clubs deploy AI-generated videos and voices of celebrities, CEOs, or trusted figures to manufacture high-stakes opportunities.

Today, scammers can mimic not just branding – but tone, writing style, even a person’s voice. Which means even experienced investors can find themselves second-guessing what’s real.

The advisers in our network are seeing it firsthand:

Clients receiving texts about unpaid tickets…

calls from someone who sounds exactly like a bank representative…

messages that look like they came from a grandchild in distress.

Voice cloning is now being used to mimic family members in so-called “grandparent” or “distress” scams – victims reported more than $5 million in losses to this specific tactic in 2025 alone.

And increasingly, they arrive through everyday channels – emails or texts asking you to “verify” an account, click a link, or respond with personal information.

FINRA has documented how this plays out in the investment world specifically:

In one scheme, scammers create an imposter website that uses the name and publicly available professional details of a legitimate broker, like this:

They then call potential targets and direct them to the fake site. Because it looks legitimate, investors may hand over personal information or login credentials without a second thought.

In a second scheme, scammers create a fake FINRA BrokerCheck^® report – complete with the name and CRD number of a real, registered professional – and email it to potential “clients,” requesting a photo of their driver’s license and other personal information.

Here are some of the red flags FINRA highlights on the doctored report:

The common thread? Urgency and emotion.

The FTC found that some of the fastest-growing scams targeting older adults use fear to override good judgment. A caller claims your bank account has been hacked and that you need to move your money immediately to protect it. The money doesn’t move to safety. It goes straight to the scammer. So what can investors do?

The single most important thing is to pause and verify.

Maintain a healthy skepticism around urgency. Scammers rely on speed and emotion – taking even a few extra minutes to verify can make all the difference.

That means avoiding links or replies to unexpected messages…

being cautious with any request for personal information…

and stepping back when something feels urgent or out of the ordinary.

FINRA Rule 4512 also offers a layer of protection many investors have never activated: the trusted contact designation. Brokerage firms must ask for a trusted contact when you open or update an account. That person – a family member, attorney, or accountant – can be contacted if a firm suspects financial exploitation or simply can’t reach you. They can’t trade, withdraw funds, or view balances. But they can act as a circuit breaker.

It’s a small step. But in a landscape where scammers now have tools that can replicate a loved one’s voice in real time, small steps matter.

P.S. These situations don’t always show up in market commentary – yet they’re increasingly part of the broader financial picture many investors are navigating.

At WorthNet, part of our role is connecting readers with advisers who help clients think through risks like these alongside portfolio decisions, tax considerations, and long-term planning. If you’re curious how advisers in our curated network approach asset protection in today’s environment, you can learn more by clicking below.

In full transparency, WorthNet is compensated for connecting readers with the advisers in our network, which creates a financial incentive on our part. We think it’s important you know that.