Effective Interventions Against AI-Enhanced Scams

Abstract

In 2025, scams were responsible for an estimated $442 billion in direct losses globally. In the United States, reported losses increased by nearly 400% between 2020 and 2025. Though AI in scamming is a relatively new phenomenon, its use significantly changes the economics of scams as well as the bottlenecks in scam operations. In this paper I investigate what interventions will remain effective under this new AI-driven scamming regime. I develop a simple model of scam profits to understand how different interventions asymptotically affect scam operations. I find that three levers--reporting rate, centralization of reporting, and report accuracy--multiply in their effect on expected victims per scam channel, reducing revenue per scam channel while increasing costs. Because effects multiply, interventions affecting all three could have a significant effect on the profitability of the scam business model. My analysis suggests that even modest reporting rates against high-value scam infrastructure could have significant impacts on scam profitability.