Technology can protect you from certain cyber threats, but it cannot protect you from falling in love with an AI sweetheart carefully created by cybercriminals.
Some of you may remember the late 90s and early 2000s, when peace of mind was achieved simply by installing antivirus software on a PC with an Intel Pentium 4 processor, 80GB hard drive, and NVidia GeForce4 Ti 4200 graphics card.
Those were different times, when for ordinary people like myself even a mediocre firewall was completely sufficient.
It was a world before tempting financial offers from Nigerian princes or news of a generous inheritance from an uncle in the United States, Canada, or Australia you never knew existed. Back then, “scam” wasn’t a buzzword.
But times have changed. According to the latest CrowdStrike Global Threat Report, 79% of intrusion detections are now malware-free. This means that attackers simply log in with stolen credentials instead of relying on malicious software.
With the rapid development and accessibility of AI tools, the ability to launch highly personalized scams and identity theft at scale has only increased.
I would go further: we are now accelerating into a new era of fraud. The AI revolution has shifted cyberthreats from cold, abstract malware to the most vulnerable corners of human emotion – love, compassion, fear, loneliness. Basic feelings have become humanity’s greatest security weakness.
Criminals focus on vulnerable users online
While malware did not choose its victims, today’s cybercriminals deliberately target the most vulnerable internet users. Grandparents and romance scams, as well as fraudulent job recruitment offers, are among the fastest-growing digital crime categories.
News headlines are filled with stories of people swindled out of their life savings after believing in a fake relationship with an AI bot impersonating the person of their dreams.
With vishing attacks increasing by 442% last year, many victims were deceived by voice-cloning scams where fraudsters pretended to be relatives “in trouble.”
The FBI’s Internet Crime Report reveals that Americans lost $16 billion to cybercrime in 2024, a 33% increase compared to 2023.
The Federal Trade Commission reports a dramatic rise in impersonation scams targeting older adults: combined losses for people aged 60 and over who lost more than $100,000 reached $445 million in 2024, compared to just $55 million in 2020.
Even more concerning, these crimes are now supported by global infrastructure. Fraud centers are being set up in underdeveloped countries, entire villages are dedicated to scams, and organized groups collaborate seamlessly across borders.
Many victims feel ashamed of being scammed. It is understandable – no one wants to appear foolish – but the truth is that scams exploit emotions, not intelligence. Everyone can fall for them.
Even cybersecurity professionals sometimes fall victim to social engineering. Being scammed should be seen as no more shameful than being pickpocketed in Rome or having your house robbed. The stigma must disappear.
At some point, becoming a victim of fraud may be as ordinary as experiencing theft in any major city. And just as we protect our homes and belongings to minimize losses, the same approach must shape the future of cybersecurity. Cybersecurity can no longer be limited to blocking malware – it must evolve the way home security has.
Digital protection requires full spectrum of tools
Technology remains central to this. Despite what I wrote earlier, malware, malicious ads, and digital exploits have not gone away. Failing to install proper protection is like leaving your doors unlocked: you may not be robbed immediately, but eventually it will happen.
Yet, as we know, locked doors alone do not stop burglars. That is why people invest in alarm systems and surveillance.
The same logic applies to identity theft. The most sophisticated social engineering and scam attacks usually begin with leaked personal data. If your identity is exposed in a data breach, it becomes a key that unlocks larger fraud attempts.
This is why identity monitoring – “digital eyes” that scan for compromised data – has become increasingly important.
And even if you take every precaution, crimes still happen. That is why homeowners turn to insurance companies for coverage. The same must apply to cybersecurity. As noted earlier, many victims lose their entire savings to scams. Insurance may become the safety net that helps people recover.
According to multiple market projections, the cyber insurance sector is expected to grow 15–25% annually by 2029. In other words, cyber protection is moving in the same direction as home security. Unfortunately, with the scam industry growing at record speed, we are still lagging behind.
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