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Treat an AI-assisted scam as an account-takeover emergency. End the conversation, open the real provider app or website yourself, and secure the account from a device you trust. If you can still sign in, change the password, revoke other sessions, protect recovery methods, and inspect connected access. If you are locked out, use only the provider’s official recovery process. Then handle money transfers, identity misuse, phone-number theft, or device compromise as separate incidents. A convincing voice, video, email, or support chat does not prove who contacted you; the FBI warns that synthetic impersonation can be difficult to distinguish from a real person, so verify through a channel you chose independently.
What should I do first if an AI-powered scammer may have taken my account?
Stop relying on the caller, message, or link that led to the incident. Assume any verification code, password, recovery link, or remote-access instruction you shared is exposed, and begin from an independently chosen channel.
- Break contact. Do not read another code to the caller, click a recovery link they supplied, install software at their request, or trust caller ID. The Federal Trade Commission’s guidance is blunt: “Anyone who asks you for your account verification code is a scammer.”
- Choose the real channel yourself. Type the provider’s known web address, use its official app, or use a bank number printed on your card, statement, or existing app. A person claiming to be support may be the same impersonator.
- Decide whether you are still signed in. Your next action is different if an active session remains than if the password or recovery details have already been changed.
- Use another trusted device if the computer or phone may be compromised. If the scammer had remote access or installed software, do not assume a password change on that device is enough.
Can I still sign in? Contain the account immediately
If an active session works, make the account difficult to control from anywhere else before investigating the incident in detail.
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- Sign out other devices and sessions. Use the provider’s account-security page to revoke sessions you do not recognize. Record unfamiliar device names or locations before removing them if you may need them for a report.
- Turn on two-factor authentication. Use an authentication method the provider supports and that the scammer cannot already control. Never approve a prompt or disclose a new code because someone on the phone tells you to.
- Restore recovery information. Check the recovery email address and phone number character by character. Remove numbers, addresses, or authenticator methods that are not yours.
- Review connected access. Remove unfamiliar third-party apps, app passwords, delegated access, and permissions. A password reset does not automatically remove every authorized connection.
If remote-control software was installed or the attacker used your computer, Microsoft advises a full scan of an affected PC before its password-change step. The FTC likewise recommends updating trusted security software and scanning the device. Use a separate clean device to secure accounts when possible; a paid “cleaner” is not a prerequisite in the official guidance.
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What if someone changed my password and I cannot get in?
Use the provider’s official account-recovery flow, reached by typing the known address or opening the official app. The FTC directs victims to provider-specific instructions, and Google and Microsoft publish their own recovery guidance. Do not trust a form, phone number, social-media helper, or promised response time merely because it claims to restore access.
- Start at the provider’s sign-in page and select its built-in password-recovery or account-compromise option.
- Provide the requested ownership information through that page only. Do not send verification codes to a person who contacted you first.
- Secure the email account and phone number used for recovery if they are still under your control.
- After access returns, repeat the containment checks: password reuse, sessions, recovery methods, connected apps, and account activity.
Recovery success and timing vary by provider and by the evidence available for your account. No outside person can guarantee that a human agent, a particular form, or a specific number of hours will restore access.
How do I find the scammer’s remaining foothold?
Look for changes that survive a password reset. Attackers often add a recovery method or authorized connection so they can return later, or alter communications so you do not see warnings.
- Devices and sessions: Remove unfamiliar phones, browsers, computers, and active sessions.
- Recovery settings: Verify every recovery address, phone number, authenticator, backup code, and security notification destination.
- Connected services: Revoke unknown apps, mail clients, delegated users, app passwords, and permissions.
- Email controls: Inspect forwarding addresses, automatic filters, inbox rules, delegation, sent mail, and deleted mail. An attacker can forward password-reset messages or hide security alerts without changing the visible password.
- Social and messaging activity: Check posts, direct messages, group memberships, profile details, and payment requests. Tell contacts through a different trusted channel not to follow links or send money from suspicious messages that appear to come from you.
What changes depending on the account that was taken?
The login problem is only one part of the harm. Prioritize the data and actions that account controls.
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| Account type | First checks | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Recovery settings, forwarding, filters, delegation, sent and deleted mail, linked services | An attacker who controls the inbox can request password resets for other accounts and conceal warning messages. | |
| Social or messaging | Posts, direct messages, profile changes, contacts, group activity | The familiar account can be used to solicit money, distribute harmful links, or impersonate you to people who trust you. |
| Bank, payment, payroll, or savings | Unauthorized transactions, changed deposit details, beneficiaries, and contact information | Stopping login abuse does not automatically reverse a transfer or correct altered payroll or deposit instructions. |
What should I do if money, identity information, my phone number, or my device was affected?
Handle each type of damage on its own track. Regaining the login does not recover money, undo identity misuse, or remove malicious software.
If there are unauthorized payments or changed financial details
Contact the bank, card issuer, payroll provider, or payment service immediately through a trusted number or app. Explain that the account was taken over, identify every unauthorized transaction, and ask whether the institution can stop, recall, or reverse a transfer. A request is worthwhile, but a reversal or reimbursement is not guaranteed.
If personal information was used for identity theft
Use the FTC’s free recovery steps at IdentityTheft.gov. Follow its instructions for contacting affected companies and placing a free fraud alert. Identity-theft recovery is separate from restoring an email or social-media password.
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Contact the mobile carrier through an independently verified channel to regain the number. Once it is back under your control, recheck passwords, recovery numbers, two-factor methods, and sessions on accounts that used that number.
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If the scammer accessed a computer or installed software
Update trusted security software and run a full scan. If the device remains under an attacker’s control, use a different clean device for account recovery and password changes. Do not treat a successful scan as proof that every account setting has been restored; complete the session, recovery, forwarding, and connected-app checks as well.
Was the support call or message really generated by AI?
You may not be able to determine that, and you do not need to in order to respond safely. The FBI describes voice-message impersonation and warns that AI-generated voices can sound like known people. Phishing, stolen passwords, malicious software, and ordinary social engineering can also cause an account takeover, so do not state that a particular incident used AI without evidence.
Verify identity by calling a number you found independently, asking the person through a separate channel, or opening the organization’s app yourself. Do not use the apparent caller’s voice, caller ID, email signature, or link as the proof of identity.
How do I report the takeover?
Reporting creates a record and can help investigators connect related incidents, although it does not guarantee a refund or restored account.
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- Report the scam to the FTC. Include the impersonated organization, contact method, dates, and what information or access you provided.
- Report financial account takeover or fraudulent wires to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Provide transaction details and the impersonation information, including the account, phone number, email address, or website used by the scammer.
- Notify the impersonated company. Use its official abuse, fraud, or account-compromise channel, not a contact supplied by the scammer.
- Keep records. Save transaction confirmations, account alerts, message screenshots, addresses, phone numbers, and recovery emails so your financial institution and investigators can see the sequence of events.
How widespread are AI-related and account-takeover scams?
Published figures show why a fast response matters, but they measure different populations and must not be combined into an “AI account-takeover rate.”
- The FBI’s IC3 recorded 22,364 complaints that reported AI-related information and $893,346,472 in associated adjusted losses in 2025. Those complaints span fraud categories and are not 22,364 proven AI-driven account takeovers.
- An FBI IC3 alert dated November 25, 2025 reported more than 5,100 financial account-takeover complaints since January 2025, with losses exceeding $262 million. That is the alert’s stated period, not a full-year or current-2026 total, and it is not limited to AI.
- The FTC reported $3.5 billion in losses to imposter scams in 2025. That broad category includes many incidents that were neither AI-enabled nor account takeovers.
What protection should I add after recovery?
After the account is clean and accessible, consider enrolling a physical security key if the provider supports it. The FTC defines security keys as physical devices used as a second authentication factor; USB and NFC connections are common options. Check the account’s supported sign-in methods and whether your phone or computer has the required connection.
A newly purchased key cannot unlock an account that was already stolen unless it had been enrolled beforehand or the provider’s recovery process lets you add it. Keep the key protected, enroll a backup according to the provider’s instructions, and store recovery codes safely. A key strengthens future sign-ins; it is not an account-recovery service.
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“I gave a caller my verification code.”
End the call, open the real provider site yourself, change the password from a trusted device, revoke other sessions, and inspect recovery methods and connected apps. Treat the code as compromised even if nothing looks different yet.
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“My friends are getting messages from my account.”
Secure the account first, then warn contacts through another channel not to click links or send money. Review sent messages, posts, and profile changes for additional abuse.
“Can the bank get my money back?”
Call immediately and ask about stopping, recalling, or reversing each transaction. The sooner the institution receives accurate transaction and impersonation details, the more options it can assess, but no outcome is guaranteed.
“Someone installed software while helping me.”
Disconnect the affected device from sensitive account work, use a trusted security tool for an updated full scan, and recover accounts from another clean device. Continue checking account sessions and permissions after the scan.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should I delete the scammer’s emails or messages?
Keep copies or screenshots, including sender details, phone numbers, links, timestamps, and transaction references, before deleting anything. Those records can make an FTC, IC3, provider, or bank report more precise; avoid replying to preserve evidence.
What should I say when reporting an incident that might involve AI?
Describe what you observed—such as a cloned-sounding voice, a video, a message, or a fake support page—and label it as suspected rather than proven. Report the actions and losses even when you cannot establish which technology generated the impersonation.
Does recovering my email account protect every other account?
No. It removes one route to password resets, but each bank, payment, social, payroll, and shopping account still needs its own password, session, recovery-method, and connected-app review. Prioritize any service that reused the exposed password or used the compromised inbox for recovery.
Can a carrier fix a stolen phone number without changing my passwords?
The carrier can help return control of the number, but number recovery does not undo password changes, active sessions, or newly added recovery methods. Recheck those settings on every account that used the number after the carrier confirms control is restored.
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