Frank Abagnale built his reputation by deceiving people. Now, the former con man is warning that artificial intelligence has equipped modern fraudsters with tools he could once only have imagined.
The ex-con man whose life story inspired Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can says AI is making scams faster, less expensive and more difficult to detect. Criminals can now produce convincing fake identities, voices and messages on a massive scale.
Abagnale issued the warning this week while speaking at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Compliance and Risk Management Conference in Washington, DC.
The 78-year-old has spent decades advising financial institutions, companies and government agencies on fraud prevention. He said the threat has moved well beyond traditional forgery and check scams.
Abagnale’s own safeguards include freezing his credit, writing relatively few checks and keeping the number of apps on his phone to a minimum.
However, he said consumers and businesses must now be far more cautious about who is really communicating with them by phone, email or video call.
His advice is straightforward: Never assume that what you see or hear is genuine. Verify it through an independent channel.
That warning is becoming increasingly urgent as artificial intelligence enables criminals to replicate real people through highly convincing voices, images and videos.
Frank Abagnale once made a career out of deceiving people. Now he says artificial intelligence has given fraudsters an arsenal he could only have dreamed of
AI can also multiply the number of potential victims, enabling scammers to send enormous volumes of persuasive messages at very little cost.
Abagnale, who spent years evading the FBI, told the conference that data stolen in earlier breaches can remain valuable to criminals for years—especially when it is combined with modern AI tools.
The threat is increasingly shifting from attacks that breach computer systems to schemes that manipulate the people operating them.
A striking example occurred in Hong Kong in 2024, when an employee at engineering firm Arup was deceived into transferring approximately $25.6 million. The employee had joined a video conference featuring AI-generated versions of senior colleagues.
The employee had initially questioned a message seeking a confidential transaction. But the fabricated video meeting made the request seem credible.
The case demonstrated how criminals can pair traditional social engineering with AI technology to overcome a victim’s initial suspicions.
The real estate industry is emerging as another significant target. Property deals involve large sums of money and often depend heavily on identity verification.
The American Land Title Association (ALTA) said this month that 59 percent of surveyed title firms had encountered at least one attempted seller-impersonation scam in 2025. That compares with 28 percent in the organization’s previous survey, conducted in 2024.
In these schemes, criminals pose as property owners and try to sell homes or land that they do not actually own.
Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed Frank Abagnale in the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can
Abagnale says AI is making fraud faster, cheaper and harder to detect by allowing criminals to create convincing fake identities, voices and messages at enormous scale
The latest ALTA research, based on responses from 245 title professionals across 40 states, Washington, DC, and the US Virgin Islands, also found that 45 percent of firms had seen an attempt during the month before the survey.
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Deepfake images and voices are already part of the fraudsters’ toolkit, with 58 percent of respondents describing their use as at least somewhat common.
And the potential losses are substantial: Among firms that had experienced seller-impersonation attempts, one in four reported a paid claim connected to the fraud, while half of those disclosing average claim costs reported losses above $100,000.
The warning comes as the mortgage industry itself is increasingly experimenting with AI, although adoption remains relatively early.
A separate survey released this week by the Mortgage Bankers Association, the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators and Boston Consulting Group found that nearly 60 percent of respondents regarded regulatory and compliance uncertainty as their biggest obstacle to greater AI adoption.
The survey also found that nearly all participating mortgage firms had at least one or two AI applications in production, but that most uses were concentrated on productivity and support rather than core mortgage processes.
For consumers, the lesson from Abagnale and the mortgage industry is that seeing something convincing is no longer necessarily enough to prove it is genuine.
A familiar voice on the phone, a realistic-looking video or an email containing personal information could all potentially be part of a carefully constructed scam.
That means people should independently verify requests involving money or sensitive information rather than relying solely on the contact details or communication channel provided by the person making the request.
For property transactions in particular, industry experts recommend using multiple layers of verification, including independent identity checks, secure authentication and direct contact through trusted channels.
Susannah Streeter’s tips for avoiding AI-powered fraud
Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club
Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, agrees with Abagnale that AI is giving fraudsters powerful new ways to make scams appear legitimate.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Streeter warned that pensions are an especially attractive target because they can represent decades of savings, while AI can help criminals create convincing websites, documents, fake identities and highly personalized messages in seconds.
Her advice for keeping your money safe:
1. Don’t let anyone rush you
If you’re told an investment opportunity will disappear tomorrow, take that as a reason to slow down, not speed up. Never transfer money while you’re being pressured.
2. Verify before you trust
AI can produce remarkably convincing websites, documents, voices and messages. Even if someone appears completely genuine, independently check any financial claims they make.
3. Check firms independently
If you’re contacted about an investment or pension opportunity, check the firm through the Securities and Exchange Commission rather than using a link or phone number supplied by the person who contacted you.
4. Contact your retirement fund custodian directly
Use the details on your provider’s official website or your existing paperwork. Don’t rely on contact information sent to you by a potential fraudster.
5. Get a second opinion
Talk the opportunity through with someone you trust who has no financial involvement in it. A fresh pair of eyes can help you spot warning signs, particularly if a fraudster has spent time building a relationship with you.
6. Get regulated advice
If you’re considering transferring a pension, seek advice from a regulated financial adviser rather than taking advice from someone who approached you unexpectedly.
7. Ask the awkward questions
Before handing over any money, ask: Who is really behind this? Are they authorized? Where exactly is my money going? And why am I being asked to make this decision now?
