Bradford City Neighbourhood Policing Team has issued a public warning about new waves of AI-driven fraud that use advanced technology to deceive victims, including voice cloning, deepfake videos and highly realistic phishing messages.
A spokesman for the neighbourhood policing team said: “Scammers are now using artificial intelligence to make their attacks more convincing than ever before.
“These aren’t the obvious scam messages of the past – they can look, sound, and even feel real.
“These scams deliberately create panic and urgency – pushing you to act before you think.”
Officers warn that just seconds of recorded audio could allow criminals to clone a person’s voice and impersonate loved ones or colleagues over the phone.
Deepfake video calls could see scammers posing as bosses or officials to request urgent payments.
Emails and texts, often appearing to be from HMRC, banks, or delivery companies, are now convincingly written without the usual spelling errors.
Police are urging the public to take a moment before responding to any request for money or sensitive information, and to use trusted contact details to verify any unusual communication.