The scam has changed. In 2026 it arrives as a text about a parcel you are half-expecting, a phone call in the voice of someone you love, or a job offer that pays you before it robs you. The numbers show how well it works: the FBI recorded $20.877 billion in reported US losses in 2025, across more than a million complaints — the first time complaints have passed one million. Investment fraud alone cost Americans $8.648 billion. Every authority adds the same warning: most victims never report, so the true total is far higher.
This guide covers the scams actually circulating in 2026 — the texts, the calls and the AI voices — how each one works, and the checks that stop them. All figures are the latest verified data available on 11 November 2026; no full-year 2026 totals exist yet, so 2025 figures are labelled as such.
The scale of the problem
The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report, released in April 2026, puts total reported US losses at $20.877 billion, up 26% on 2024, with 1,008,597 complaints. Investment fraud was the largest single category at $8.648 billion. Crypto-related crime reached $11.366 billion, including $7.228 billion in crypto investment fraud. For the first time, the FBI tracked AI as a distinct category: 22,364 complaints and about $893 million in losses.
The pattern repeats everywhere: UK investment fraud cost £879.8 million in 2025, Australia lost $2.18 billion, and Canada more than C$704 million — with authorities everywhere warning most victims never report.
Phishing texts: the delivery message and the bank alert
Text scams are the most common way most people meet a scammer. The US Federal Trade Commission reported $470 million lost to text scams in 2024 — more than five times the 2020 figure. The most-reported text scam of 2024 was the fake package delivery message, usually impersonating the US Postal Service: a link to a fake site asking for a small redelivery fee to steal your card details.
The FTC lists five main types: fake delivery messages; phony jobs and task scams; fake bank or Amazon fraud alerts, where you are pressured to move money to “keep it safe”; bogus unpaid tolls; and the “wrong number” text, which turns into a friendly conversation, then a romance, then a bogus investment platform. The FTC’s rule is simple: legitimate companies do not email or text you a link to update your payment information. If a message claims to be from your bank or delivery company, do not click the link — open the company’s own app or type its web address yourself.
AI voice cloning: “Don’t trust the voice”
The most unsettling scam of 2026 is also the simplest. A scammer needs only a short audio clip of a loved one’s voice — taken from content posted online — and a voice-cloning program. Then they call: a panicked grandson, a child in a car crash, a relative in jail or in hospital, begging you to send money now. The FTC’s advice is blunt: “Don’t trust the voice. Call the person who supposedly contacted you and verify the story. Use a phone number you know is theirs. If you can’t reach [them], try … another family member or [their] friends.”
The FBI reported 22,364 AI-related complaints in 2025, about $893 million in losses; in the UK, reports where victims identified AI rose 395% in a year. A family code word — a secret phrase only your family knows — is recommended by the FBI and the FCC; agree on one today. The payment demand is the other giveaway: a wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or gift cards read out over the phone. No real emergency needs paying in gift cards.
Fake delivery messages: Royal Mail, USPS, Evri and Australia Post
Delivery scams spike at Christmas, and the authorities warned about them again in early November 2026. The pattern is the same everywhere: a parcel could not be delivered, a link, a small fee — or a parcel-tracker app that is really malware. The official rules are consistent and worth memorising. The US Postal Service only texts you if you requested tracking for a specific package, and those texts will not contain a link; report USPS smishing to spam@uspis.gov. Royal Mail will never ask for payment by text or email; the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre advises forwarding suspicious texts free to 7726 and suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. Australia Post says it will never ask for personal or financial information or for a payment you are not expecting — report scams to scams@auspost.com.au. Evri texts come only from “Evri”, link only to evri.com, and never ask for payment to reschedule a delivery.
Investment and crypto scams: the long con
Investment fraud is the biggest single source of losses in the US, the UK and Australia, and in 2026 it is increasingly powered by AI. The typical version — sometimes called pig butchering — starts with a wrong-number text, a dating app match or an advert, then moves to a messaging app, where weeks of friendly conversation build trust. The new friend turns out to be a successful crypto trader who offers to teach you. A fake platform shows your money growing. Then, when you try to withdraw, you are told to pay “tax” or “fees” first. The FBI’s warning is direct: victims cannot get their money back even if they pay. In the UK, City of London Police report scammers now use AI-manipulated videos and deepfake endorsements featuring public figures, plus cloned websites and social media ads. Their advice: check the Financial Conduct Authority’s firm checker before investing, and beware unsolicited messages, unusually high returns, and any request to keep the investment confidential.
Watch out for recovery fraud: criminals re-target victims posing as lawyers, police or recovery firms, charging upfront fees to get the money back. The FBI says it never contacts victims directly for money or information. The red flags are always the same: a stranger steering you to invest, guaranteed or steady returns, a platform that is not on any regulator’s register, and a fee to withdraw your own money. The FTC’s rule is equally plain: never mix online dating and investment advice, and only scammers demand payment in cryptocurrency.
Job scams and task scams: “never pay anyone to get paid”
Job scams are the fastest-growing category for younger victims. The FTC reported job-scam losses topped $220 million in the first half of 2024 alone, up from $90 million in the whole of 2020, and task-scam reports rose from about 5,000 in all of 2023 to about 20,000 in the first half of 2024. The pattern: a small payout first, then a demand to send money, often in crypto, to finish tasks or withdraw your earnings — money that never comes back. Australia’s Scamwatch warned in May 2026 that criminals impersonate Amazon, YouTube and other well-known companies by text, offering well-paid flexible work from home, then move victims to encrypted WhatsApp. Its advice: real offers appear on legitimate recruitment sites, and real recruiters do not move you to WhatsApp. In Canada, job scams were among the top three frauds by financial impact in 2025. The FTC’s rule: “Never pay anyone to get paid.” Honest employers never ask you to pay to get a job.
Seven checks that stop almost every scam
Stop. Scammers create urgency — “pay in 12 hours”, “don’t tell anyone”, “your account is at risk”. A real emergency survives a pause. Never click the link or use the number in the message. Contact the company through a number or website you already know is real. Hang up and call back. For any call claiming to be family, a bank, the police or a government agency, hang up and call back on a number saved in your phone or on their official website. Caller ID can be faked. Check the payment method. A demand for a wire transfer, cryptocurrency, gift cards or a payment app, made urgently, is a scam signal. Check independently before investing or accepting a job. Use the FCA firm checker (UK), ASIC (Australia), or the company’s own careers page — never a link sent by the recruiter. Forward and delete scam texts. In the US and UK, forward them to 7726 (SPAM). Also forward UK scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk; report in the US at ReportFraud.ftc.gov; USPS texts to spam@uspis.gov; Australia Post texts to scams@auspost.com.au. If you paid or shared details, act fast. Contact your bank immediately, change your passwords on the genuine site or app, and in the US go to IdentityTheft.gov. In Australia, contact IDCARE on 1800 595 160.
The bottom line
Scams in 2026 are not more clever than they were — they are more personal, more urgent and more realistic, because AI lets criminals copy a voice, a face or a brand in minutes. The defence has not changed: pause, verify through a channel you trust, and never pay under pressure. Almost every version of it fails the same seven checks. For more on protecting yourself online, read What Is a VPN, and Do You Actually Need One at Home?, and for help spotting machine-made fakes, read How to Spot AI-Generated Text, Images and Video.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common text scam?
Fake package delivery messages were the most-reported text scam in the US in 2024, according to the FTC — usually impersonating USPS.
How do I check whether a call from a family member is real?
Hang up and call them back on a number you know is theirs. The FTC’s advice is “don’t trust the voice”.
Sources
- FBI IC3 2025 report: $20.877bn, 1,008,597 complaints: FBI
- IC3 2025 tables: IC3
- FTC top text scams 2024: FTC
- FTC, scammers use AI to enhance family emergency schemes: FTC
- FTC annual report to Congress on protecting older adults: FTC
- FTC task scams spotlight 2024: FTC
- City of London Police, UK investment fraud 2025: Police
- City of London Police intelligence assessment 2026: Police
- UK Finance fraud report: UK Finance
- ACCC Targeting Scams Report 2025: ACCC
- ACCC, thousands of scam websites taken down: ACCC
- Scamwatch, job recruitment scams: Scamwatch
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada annual report 2025–2026: Government of Canada
- Australia Post scam alerts: AusPost
- Scamwatch, text or SMS scams: Scamwatch