Cyber scams are not new. Phishing emails, fake invoices, hacked accounts and impersonation attempts have been around for years.
What is changing is how convincing they can be.
Artificial intelligence is giving cybercriminals new ways to create polished emails, imitate trusted people, personalize scams and move faster. The old advice to “look for spelling errors” or “watch for strange wording” still has value, but it is no longer enough.
Today, a fraudulent message may look professional, sound natural and appear to come from someone you know.
That means one of the most important cybersecurity habits today is simple: verify before you trust.
AI can make traditional scams harder to recognize.
Instead of sending the same poorly written email to thousands of people, criminals can use AI to create messages tailored to a specific person, business or situation. They may reference a company executive, a vendor, a recent purchase or information found publicly online.
AI can also help create:
Cybersecurity researchers are also seeing criminals use trusted brands and popular AI tools themselves as bait. A message claiming there is a problem with an AI account, subscription or payment may simply be a new version of an old phishing scam.
For years, many of us learned to look for obvious warning signs: bad grammar, strange formatting, unusual email addresses or poorly designed websites.
Those clues still matter. But AI can remove many of them.
A message can now look completely normal and still be fraudulent.
Instead, pay attention to what the message is asking you to do.
Be especially cautious when someone unexpectedly asks you to:
If something involves money, passwords or sensitive information, verify the request another way. Call the person using a number you already know. Open the company’s website or app directly rather than using the link in the message.
Even if the message appears to come from someone you trust, a quick verification can prevent a much bigger problem.
This is another area where AI changes the equation.
Technology can now be used to imitate someone’s voice or create realistic-looking images and video. That does not mean every unusual phone call is a sophisticated “deepfake,” but it does mean your ears and eyes should not automatically be treated as proof of identity.
Families may want to establish a simple verification method for unusual or urgent requests.
For example, if someone calls saying there has been an emergency and they need money immediately, hang up and contact that person or another family member directly.
The same principle applies at work.
Small businesses have another layer of risk because cybercriminals can impersonate employees, executives, vendors and customers.
One particularly important threat is business email compromise. In these scams, criminals may impersonate a business owner, executive or vendor and request a wire transfer, payroll change or payment to a new account.
AI can make those messages much more believable by helping criminals understand relationships, mimic communication styles and create convincing supporting documents. Microsoft reported in 2026 that AI-enabled tools were being used to analyze compromised inboxes, identify valuable targets and help criminals determine whom to impersonate and how to approach them.
That makes internal procedures just as important as cybersecurity software.
Consider creating clear rules such as:
Cybersecurity researchers are also seeing attacks move beyond email into workplace collaboration platforms and other trusted communication channels, which makes employee awareness increasingly important.
Technology changes quickly. Your insurance coverage should keep pace.
Businesses should periodically review their cyber insurance and understand how their policy responds to risks such as business email compromise, social engineering, funds transfer fraud, data breaches and the costs associated with responding to a cyber incident.
For individuals, identity theft protection and certain cyber-related losses may be addressed through homeowners coverage, endorsements or separate products depending on the policy.
The important thing is to understand your protection before something happens.
AI has not replaced traditional cyber scams. In many cases, it has simply made them faster, more personalized and more believable.
That is why cybersecurity today is less about spotting one obvious red flag and more about slowing down before acting.
When a message involves money, sensitive information or an unexpected sense of urgency, take an extra minute.
Verify the person. Verify the request. And when in doubt, do not click.
Cyber threats will continue to evolve, but some of the best protection still comes from a very human habit: stop and check.
If you have questions about your personal or business insurance coverage and how it may respond to a cyber event, the Camargo Insurance team can help you understand your options in plain English.
Have questions about your coverage for any of these? Reach out to your Camargo Insurance agent — we're happy to walk through your policy.