Scammers Are Using AI To Target Utah Residents Who Are Looking for Opportunities

People in Utah reported losing 108 million dollars to scams in 2025. So far in 2026 that numbers stands at 60 million in losses. You may have become a target of multiple scams by how you have responded to offers in the past.

AI and Social Media: New Tools for Scammers

The FBI has been working with banks to put checks on payments of money by older people to foreign countries. This has been a big help in stopping some of the scams that target this vulnerable population.

However, with AI and social media, the number of cases of fraud continue to increase. Part of the reason for this is the ability to analyze past interactions using AI and following a patterns that point to what they call an "opportunity seeker" personality.

The Link Between of Sweepstakes and Contests

This means if you or a loved one entered a legitimate sweepstakes or a contest online, that information was noted and the algorithms kept track of the information. This can then be sold to scam networks oversees.

This is valuable information for these scammers as they don't have to try random people, they have a list of people who have responded to contests in the past. The Department of Justice has prosecuted those selling this information in the U.S.

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Of course all these transactions can't be stopped and so it is important to be aware and stop possible scams earlier.

What does this mean for vulnerable people in Utah? If you or a loved one is getting multiple scams targeting them they are probably on one of these lists. Being aware of how it works can be the first step in preventing it.