How families can help parents recognize AI scams

Australian Seniors Scams Report (2025) found that nearly 9 in 10 seniors feel being left behind when it comes AI risks, while many say AI has made them feel less certain about what is real online.

It’s not about age or whether someone is “good with technology.” The internet is changing quickly, and many of the signs people once relied on to judge what was real are becoming harder to recognize.

Here’s what AI scams targeting seniors look like today, why they can feel so unsettling, and what families can do to help older adults stay safer online.

Key takeaways:

1 in 4 seniors say they had experienced an AI scam
Nearly 2 in 5 had already encountered AI-generated content they initially believed was real
37% say AI makes them feel more vulnerable to scams, while 21% feel overwhelmed by AI and technology
AI scams are becoming harder to recognize because they remove many of the warning signs people once relied on
Families can help by building habits around pausing, verifying, and checking together

What makes AI scams feel different?

Traditional scams often relied on obvious pressure: urgent language, strange requests, poor spelling, or stories that felt unrealistic.

AI scams work differently because they often feel familiar, polished, and believable, whether that’s a voice that sounds like a grandchild, a message written in perfect language, a photo that appears authentic, or a chatbot that responds naturally and seems genuinely helpful.

In the Australian Seniors Scams Report, around 1 in 4 (25%) report having experienced an AI scam, including AI-generated phishing emails or messages (15%), investment or financial scams (8%), deepfake videos (6%), and fake AI chatbots (6%).

At the same time, nearly 2 in 5 (38%) said they had already encountered an AI-generated image, video, or news article they initially believed was real, while the remaining respondents were almost evenly split between saying they had not experienced this and being unsure.

Can your parent recognize an AI scam?

When asked what would be hardest to spot if created with AI, 1 in 5 seniors said manipulated photos of real people (20%) would be the most difficult to detect, followed by completely AI-generated faces that look like real people (18%). Around 1 in 6 found AI-generated written news articles (17%) or deepfake videos of public figures or celebrities (16%) hardest to detect. A further 1 in 7 said AI-generated personal messages (15%) or cloned voices of public figures or celebrities (15%) would be the most difficult to recognize as fake.

More than half of seniors (51%) said all of the content types included in the survey would be equally difficult to identify as fake.

Nearly 2 in 5 seniors said AI has made them feel uncertain about what is real or fake online, and more than a third said they feel more vulnerable to scams because of AI.

The AI scams families should start talking about with older family members

AI scams often work because they feel familiar, helpful, or urgent. Talking about them before they happen can make them easier to recognize.

1. Fake images and manipulated photos

The report found that altered photos and AI-generated faces were among the hardest types of content for seniors to identify as fake.

What to do:
Check whether the same image appears elsewhere, look for additional sources, and avoid making decisions based on a single photo or screenshot. You can check any image, suspicious message, urgent request, investment opportunity, or unusual story, with our free Bitdefender Scamio which will tell you whether it is a scam.

2. Voice cloning calls

Someone calls pretending to be a child, partner, or grandchild and creates urgency, asking for money, a bank transfer, verification codes, or secrecy.

What to do:
Pause and call the person back using their usual number instead of continuing the conversation. Some families also agree on a simple verification question or phrase that only they would know.

If the call comes from an unknown number, Bitdefender Reverse Phone Lookup can help check who may be behind the number and whether others have reported it as suspicious before you respond.

3. Fake customer support

AI chatbots, realistic emails, or messages pretend to help solve a problem with a bank account, delivery, subscription, or device.

What to do:
Avoid using phone numbers or links sent in messages. Close the message and contact the company directly through its official website, app, or customer support number. If a message contains a link and you’re unsure where it leads, the free Bitdefender Link Checker lets you check the destination before opening it.

4. Deepfake videos

Videos of trusted public figures, celebrities, experts, or familiar personalities promoting investments, health products, giveaways, or urgent warnings.

What to do:
Look for the same information on official websites or trusted news sources. If a video creates urgency, asks for money, or promises unusually high rewards, slow down and verify before taking action.

5. AI-generated messages

Messages that feel unusually polished, personal, and convincing. Unlike older scam attempts, they may contain fewer spelling mistakes and sound more natural.

What to do:
Focus less on how professional a message looks and more on what it is asking you to do. Unexpected requests for money, codes, personal information, or quick decisions deserve an extra check. Suspicious messages can also be copied into Bitdefender Scamio to get a second opinion before replying.

That last habit may become one of the most useful family rules in the AI era: don’t trust because something looks real, verify before acting.

How to help our parents stay safer

The internet may never become easier to trust again. Therefore, we have to prepare our parents to spot scams or make a habit of pausing, verifying, asking, and check together.

Try starting conversations like::

·“If you ever get a strange message, let’s check together.”

·“Let’s create a family rule: no urgent transfers without a second confirmation.”

·“It’s getting harder for everyone to tell what’s real now — not just older adults.”

Conversations will always matter more than any app or security tool. But as AI scams become more realistic and harder to recognize, a background layer of protection can help too. A Bitdefender Family Plan can help protect different family members from phishing links, scam messages, malicious websites, and suspicious activity across devices, while keeping everyone safer without turning protection into constant monitoring.

Find out more about how Bitdefender Family Plans can support your family’s digital safety.

FAQs

What are AI scams targeting seniors?

AI scams targeting seniors are scams that use artificial intelligence to make messages, calls, images, videos, or conversations feel more believable. Examples include voice cloning calls, AI-generated phishing messages, deepfake videos, fake customer support chats, and realistic fake images designed to build trust or create urgency.

What are examples of AI scams seniors should know about?

Some of the most common examples include cloned voice calls pretending to be family members, AI-generated phishing messages, deepfake investment videos, fake customer support chats, manipulated photos, and highly personalized scam messages. Around 1 in 4 seniors said they had experienced what they believed to be an AI scam.

How can I check if a message, image, or link is fake?

No single method is perfect, but it helps to pause before acting, verify through official sources, and ask someone else for a second opinion. Suspicious messages can be checked with free tools like Bitdefender Scamio, while unknown links can be checked with Bitdefender Link Checker before opening.

How can families help older adults stay safe from AI scams?

Families can create simple routines instead of relying on constant monitoring: agree on verification phrases, call back using known numbers, pause before urgent decisions, and normalize checking suspicious content together. Protection tools can add another layer, but conversations and shared habits still matter most.

What should you do if an older family member already responded to an AI scam?

Act quickly but avoid blame. Stop communication with the scammer, contact the bank if money was involved, change passwords if needed, save evidence, and talk calmly about what happened. Shame often prevents people from asking for help early.

Can your parent recognize an AI scam? How families can help