A leaked email or phone number may seem harmless at first glance, but when AI gets involved, things can get more dangerous than ever.

Cybercriminals don’t just stop at stealing data; they sell it on the dark web, where AI technologies are used to carry out sophisticated social engineering attacks. With leaked personal information, AI can recreate voices, create deepfake videos, or draft phishing emails so realistic that even the most careful people have trouble distinguishing between real and fake.

By piecing together pieces of leaked information, scammers can impersonate people you know, exploit your trust to mine for more data, or even take control of your personal accounts.
But how does your data end up on the dark web? And more importantly, what can you do to protect yourself from these sophisticated AI-powered attack tactics? Discover essential steps to stay safe from these threats.

What is AI Fraud?

AI Fraud leverages artificial intelligence to carry out increasingly sophisticated, convincing, and difficult-to-detect cyberattacks. Fraudsters use AI to analyze stolen data, create realistic fake scenarios, and automate attacks, allowing them to target in a hyper-personalized manner. These attacks can be convincing enough to fool not only friends and family, but also security systems.

What information are commonly exploited by fraudsters?
Fraudsters don't necessarily need passwords or financial information to carry out fraud. They can use seemingly innocuous data to launch dangerous attacks. Common types of information that cybercriminals exploit include:
Email: Used to send AI-generated phishing emails that mimic legitimate contact addresses.
Phone number: Used to make fake deepfake calls or messages.
Social media profiles: Information from public posts helps scammers build a believable fake identity.
Biometric data: Leaked voice recordings or photos can be recreated by AI to bypass security authentication.
Old login credentials: Data from previous breaches can still help them access your account.
Scammers can collect data from the dark web and use search engines to find high-value targets, like financial information or sensitive account logins.

How scammers use data to carry out AI scams?
Historically, data breaches have been used in a random way, but with AI, things have changed. Cybercriminals can now analyze stolen data to automate large-scale, effective, and hard-to-detect attacks.
One of the most dangerous tools is the dark web data search engine, where criminals can easily find high-value targets. With just a few clicks, they can cross-reference leaked information with social media profiles, building a detailed profile of the victim.

Deepfake Fraud
AI-powered deepfake technology allows criminals to create realistic videos, images, and voices that impersonate real people with high accuracy. With just a short audio clip or image from social media, scammers can:
Create fake voices to make fraudulent calls, such as asking for urgent money transfers.
Create fake videos to blackmail or conduct disinformation campaigns.
For example, there was a case where a deepfake of an executive's voice caused a company employee to transfer up to $243,000.
This technology not only threatens personal identity but also poses major security challenges.

How to Protect Yourself
Understanding the threats and implementing data security measures is the first step to protecting yourself from AI-powered attacks. Be proactive in changing your login credentials regularly, be wary of unusual notifications, and use robust security tools to protect your accounts.
AI-Generated Phishing Emails
Cyberscams are nothing new, but the advent of AI has made them more sophisticated than ever. Instead of generic phishing emails, cybercriminals are now using data leaked from the dark web to create hyper-personalized messages that look incredibly real.
AI can analyze personal data such as name, address, communication history, or interests to create realistic fake emails. These emails often mimic the writing style of familiar contacts or focus on topics that the victim cares about, making them much more believable than traditional scams.

For example, with just a leaked email and travel information, AI can create an email impersonating an airline, informing them of a “problem” with the victim’s flight. Because the email contains accurate details, the victim is easily convinced to click on a malicious link or unwittingly provide personal information.

Today, an average of 3.4 billion phishing emails are sent every day, and the combination of stolen data and AI-generated content makes it harder than ever to identify and stop these scams.

AI-powered social engineering
Social engineering relies on psychological manipulation rather than technical attacks, and AI has helped scammers do this more effectively. They use leaked data, such as old addresses, family names, or social media information, to impersonate people you trust.
AI bots can also join real-time conversations, posing as friends, colleagues, or customer support representatives. These bots analyze the victim's responses, adjust their tone, and build trust before asking for sensitive information, such as passwords or two-factor authentication codes.
A notable example occurred in 2024, when a Hong Kong company was tricked into transferring $25 million. Employees in the company were convinced through a fake video call, in which the participants were all deepfake avatars generated by AI.
AI has made it so that cybercriminals do not need to directly access victims' accounts or passwords. Once enough personal information is exposed, they can create convincing scams, making prevention and detection even more complicated.
Why do many people not realize their data has been breached?
Most people are unaware that their personal information has been compromised until serious consequences occur. Unlike cyberattacks that are publicized in the media, many data breaches are silent and do not have immediate impact. Stolen information is often sold underground on the black market, where cybercriminals buy it in bulk to use in fraud, scams or identity theft.
What is more worrying is that hackers do not always use stolen data immediately. They may retain, trade or sell the data months or even years after the breach, making it extremely difficult to trace its origin.
Once personal data has been breached, it can change hands on underground forums or data breach websites. Fraudsters often piece together information from multiple breaches to build detailed profiles of potential victims, increasing the threat level.

Even large companies do not always report breaches promptly. Some businesses delay disclosure, while others may not discover their systems have been compromised until the data appears on the dark web. This means your information could have been exposed without you even knowing.

How to Check if Your Personal Data is on the Dark Web

If your personal information has been leaked, there's a good chance it's circulating on the dark web. Fortunately, there are data breach lookup tools available to help you check.

These tools scan publicly available breach databases to determine if your email, phone number, or other personal information has been exposed. They help you find out early and take steps to protect your account before your information is used by a bad actor.

However, a one-time check isn't enough. New data breaches happen all the time, and stolen data isn't always released immediately. Hackers can retain or combine old data with new databases, creating increased risk even if the original breach occurred long ago.

Continuous monitoring is essential, as even a small leak can lead to bigger risks:
Leaked emails: Cybercriminals can create authentic phishing emails using AI, impersonating trusted sources.
Leaked phone numbers: Fraudsters can perform SIM swapping attacks or use AI-generated voice spoofs to commit phishing.
Leaked credentials: Hackers can use credential stuffing, trying password combinations to break into your accounts.
To minimize your risk, regularly review your personal data, use strong security measures, and stay alert to potential threats.
How to avoid AI scams
You don’t have to wait until you become a victim to take action—there are ways to protect your personal data and prevent cybercriminals from exploiting your information. Here are some effective ways to avoid AI-powered scams:
Limit public information on social media: Cybercriminals often rely on small details like birthdays, jobs, or travel plans to build believable scams. Keep your social media accounts private and only connect with people you trust.
Use strong passwords and a password manager: Set strong, unique passwords for each account to reduce the risk of being hacked, even if your data is leaked. A password manager will help you create and store them securely.
Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA): Add an extra layer of protection by requiring a second step of identity verification, which helps prevent unauthorized logins.
Limit online information sharing: Seemingly innocuous details, like answering quizzes or posting about personal interests, can be used by scammers to create personalized scams.
Regularly monitor for data leaks: Use data leak monitoring tools to detect early if your information is exposed. This allows you to take timely protective measures before bad guys exploit your data.

Strengthen protection with data leak monitoring tools
ExpressVPN's ID Alerts tool is a proactive solution for detecting data leaks. It continuously scans sources on the web, including the dark web, for leaked personal information and alerts you as soon as something unusual happens.
How does ID Alerts work?
Dark web monitoring: The tool scans underground markets and forums for leaked information related to your email, phone number, or login credentials.
Real-time notifications: When a leak is detected, you'll receive an alert immediately, allowing you to take timely action before the information is exploited.
Breach details: ID Alerts provides specific information about the data breach and the source of the detection, helping you assess the level of risk.
Easy-to-follow security guidance: The tool provides detailed steps to protect affected accounts, such as changing passwords or enhancing privacy settings.
Continuous protection: Unlike manual checks, ID Alerts works continuously in the background, always monitoring and notifying you of new threats.
Stay alert and take steps to keep your personal information safe from increasingly sophisticated AI-powered scams.