Disclaimer: This Inside South Florida segment is sponsored by Aura. All opinions and views are if the advertiser and does not reflect the same of WSFL-TV.
Americans lost nearly $21 billion to cybercrime last year, a 26% increase, as scammers use artificial intelligence to target victims with unprecedented scale and precision.
Digital privacy expert Kristen Lewis, chief product officer at Aura, said criminals are now able to send millions of highly personalized phishing messages with a single click.
"A burglar in the past with physical crime, they could rob one house at a time, but a scammer or a cyber criminal, they're sending, you know, a million perfectly polished, hyper personalized phishing texts with the push of one button," Lewis said.
Scams now arrive through texts, phone calls, emails, and social media. AI-powered deepfake technology can mimic a bank's communications or even a family member's voice.
Americans over 60 are especially at risk. Lewis said that group accounted for $8 million in losses in 2025.
Lewis said tools like those offered by Aura can help people remove personal data from the internet and filter threats across email, phone, and text messages. More information is available at Aura.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
