Deepfakes, online fraud and AI-enabled scams

For employees, finance staff and the public: recognize voice cloning, deepfake video calls and AI-powered scams, verify before you act, and report fast.

For: All employees, finance, payroll and accounts payable staff, executive assistants, recruiters, customer-facing staff and members of the public, including older adults and their families

  • 2 contact hours
  • 7 modules
  • 9 interactives
  • 4 job aids
  • Updated October 11, 2026

What you will be able to do

  • Explain how criminals use AI-generated text, images, voice and video to make fraud cheaper and more convincing, and why surface clues such as spelling errors no longer work.
  • Recognize the patterns of AI-enabled scams, including voice-cloned family emergencies, deepfake executive requests, fake investment and crypto platforms, romance scams, fake websites and reviews, and synthetic job candidates.
  • Apply verification protocols that defeat realistic fakes: callback to known numbers, code words, dual authorization and no-exceptions payment controls.
  • Reduce exposure of your voice, image and accounts, and respond appropriately to fabricated intimate images using the TAKE IT DOWN Act's removal process.
  • Report AI-enabled fraud quickly to the right place (bank, IC3, FTC, platforms, employer) and describe the FTC Impersonation Rule and the FCC AI-voice ruling.

Learn how generative AI is changing fraud: cloned voices in family emergency calls, deepfake executives on video meetings, AI-written phishing, fake investment platforms with chatbots and celebrity endorsements, and romance scams that pivot to crypto. You will practice the verification habits that work even when a fake is perfect: hanging up and calling back, family code words, dual authorization and checking registrations.

This course is for everyone, with extra depth for people who move money or verify identities: finance and payroll staff, executive assistants, recruiters, help desks, title and escrow officers, bank and credit union staff. It also helps families protect older relatives from grandparent and investment scams.

The course follows the FBI IC3's 2024 public service announcement on generative AI fraud, the FTC Impersonation Rule, the FCC's 2024 ruling on AI-generated voices and the TAKE IT DOWN Act, now enforced by the FTC. It complements our Phishing, Social Engineering and Scam Awareness course, which covers traditional phishing, and gives you a scam checklist, a verification pocket card, an incident report template and an identity protection checklist.

What you’ll be able to do Monday morning

  1. Agree on a family code word in person and save known numbers for close relatives.
  2. Use the exit line 'I'll call you right back on your usual number' for any call or video asking for money, codes or access.
  3. Follow your organization's callback and dual-approval rules for every payment and bank-detail change, with no exceptions under pressure.
  4. Check any investment opportunity you see online through regulators' own search tools before you deposit anything.
  5. Save your bank's fraud number and bookmark ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Curriculum

7 modules · 28 lessons · about 2 contact hours

01How is AI changing fraud, and why do the old warning signs fail?Free preview15 min
  1. What is generative AI, and how are criminals using it?
  2. How big is the problem?
  3. Which warning signs still work?
  4. Why does process beat perception?
  • Sort activity: Reliable warning sign, or proves nothing?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

02Can you trust a familiar voice on the phone?16 min
  1. How does voice cloning work, and where do criminals get the voice?
  2. What do family emergency and grandparent scams look like now?
  3. How do voice clones target workplaces?
  4. How do you set up a family code word that actually works?
  • Ethics dilemma: Don't tell Mom and Dad
  • Decision tree: Should I act on this request?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 3-question knowledge check

03What happens when the executive on the video call is fake?16 min
  1. How does AI-enabled executive impersonation work?
  2. Which red flags show up even when the video looks perfect?
  3. Which verification controls stop deepfake payment fraud?
  4. What should leaders do to make verification normal?
  • Branching scenario: The 4 p.m. wire

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

04Can you spot synthetic media, and how far should you trust your eyes?15 min
  1. What signs of synthetic media can you look for?
  2. Why is detection alone not enough?
  3. What simple live checks can you use on a call?
  4. How should organizations respond when synthetic media targets them?
  • Spot the issue: Review a remote hiring file

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

05How do AI-powered investment, crypto and romance scams draw people in?16 min
  1. How does AI make investment and crypto scams more convincing?
  2. How do AI-assisted romance scams work?
  3. How do you spot fake websites, shops and reviews?
  4. Who is most at risk, and how can you help?
  • Spot the issue: Red flags in a dating-app conversation
  • Spot the issue: Inspect a fake investment platform

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

06How do you protect your voice, image and identity, and what does the law now say?16 min
  1. How can you reduce what criminals can copy?
  2. What does the FTC Impersonation Rule do?
  3. What does the TAKE IT DOWN Act require, and who does it protect?
  4. What else can you do to protect your identity and accounts?
  • Self-assessment: How exposed are you to impersonation?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 3-question knowledge check

07Where and how do you report AI-enabled fraud, and what improves the odds of recovery?16 min
  1. Why does speed matter so much?
  2. What information should a report include?
  3. Which agency or organization gets which report?
  4. How do you support someone who has been scammed?
  • Matching activity: Where does this report go?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

Final assessment: 23 questions, 70% to pass, then your certificate

Try it now, no account needed

The 4 p.m. wire

A branching scenario from this course. Your choices are not saved.

Free sample activity

The 4 p.m. wire

You are Lydia, the controller. The CFO, who is traveling, has pulled you into an urgent video call about a confidential acquisition.

Inside the course

Practice activities

  • Sort activity1
  • Ethics dilemma1
  • Decision tree1
  • Branching scenario1
  • Spot the issue3
  • Self-assessment1
  • Matching activity1

Job aids you keep

  • AI Scam and Phishing ChecklistChecklist
  • Verification Protocol Pocket CardPocket card
  • AI-Enabled Fraud Incident ReportTemplate
  • Account and Identity Protection ChecklistChecklist

Credit and approval status

Certificate of completion

This course awards a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. It has not been approved or accredited by IACET, NASBA, any state board of accountancy, any licensing board, any state agency or any other accreditor. It is general fraud awareness training aligned with public guidance from the FBI, the FTC, the FCC and CISA. Check with your employer, licensing board or professional body whether this course can count toward your training records or continuing professional education.

Pathways we are pursuing or may pursue include IACET accreditation of our course development process and, where eligible, registration as a NASBA continuing professional education (CPE) sponsor. No approval exists today; we will show any approval on this page only after it is granted.

Our full approvals list

Questions about this course

Who should take this course?

Everyone can benefit, but it is especially useful for people who move money or verify identities: finance, payroll and accounts payable staff, executive assistants, recruiters, help desks, title and escrow officers, and bank or credit union staff. Families of older adults will also find the voice-cloning and investment modules valuable.

Does this course count toward CPE or continuing education?

You receive a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. It is not currently approved by IACET, NASBA, a state board of accountancy or any other accreditor. Check with your employer or board whether it can count toward your training records.

How is this different from a phishing course?

Our Phishing, Social Engineering and Scam Awareness course covers traditional phishing in every channel. This course focuses on what AI changes: cloned voices, deepfake video calls, synthetic identities, AI-built investment sites and the new federal rules that apply to them.

Will I learn how to detect deepfakes?

You will learn the clues the FBI lists and simple live checks, but the course is honest that detection is unreliable. The main skill is verification that works even when a fake is perfect, such as calling back on a known number.

How long does it take?

Plan on about 2 hours, including seven modules, interactive activities, knowledge checks and a 23-question final assessment with a 70% pass mark. You can pause and return at any time.

Is this legal advice about the TAKE IT DOWN Act or FTC rules?

No. The course summarizes what these federal rules do so you know your options. For advice about a specific situation, contact an attorney, law enforcement or the agency involved.

This course is general education and fraud awareness training from CE Courses Hub. It is not legal, financial or professional advice and does not replace your employer's policies and payment controls, your licensing board's rules, or advice from a qualified professional. Completing it earns a certificate of completion for the stated contact hours; it is not approved or accredited by any licensing board, state agency or accreditor unless an approval is shown on the course page. Check with your board, employer or state agency whether this course meets your specific requirement.