The FBI says artificial intelligence is driving the number of internet crimes up in Arizona.
In the first seven months of 2025, AI accounted for more than 9,000 complaints to the agency's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
The FBI has not yet released its annual Internet Crime Report, but spokesperson Brooke Brennan said:
“I can definitely say that we’re seeing a lot of fraud and scams in 2025 compared to the numbers lost in 2024. There has been a pretty significant increase in Arizona.”
Common schemes included phony grandchildren calling for ransom money, and scammers spoofing FBI phone numbers.
Brennan said it’s a good reminder that the FBI and legitimate government agencies will not call you for money.
More criminal justice news
-
A study is providing new insight on the traumas and experiences of incarcerated women at the Estrella Jail. The report came from a partnership between ASU and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. -
If you go to jail, you probably expect to spend a whole lot of time being told what to do. For a group of inmates at the Pinal County Adult Detention Center in Florence, they got the chance to run their pod themselves. And it was all filmed for Netflix. -
Arizona prosecutors are making their case against 42-year-old Karl Eugene Leslie in federal court. He is accused of sexually abusing and kidnapping victims while on duty between December 2020 and September 2023. -
An Arizona vape shop will be required to pay nearly half-a-million dollars after Attorney General Kris Mayes sued the business for selling tobacco products to minors. -
The fire killed 24 people in November at a discount store in Sonora’s capital.
