The Point: AI tools such as phishing-as-a-service and chatbots enable novices to commit fraud at scale, while organized crime groups can outsource technical aspects through them.
Neal Jetton, Director of the Cybercrime Division at Interpol, warns that AI tools significantly simplify cybercrime and make it accessible to perpetrators with less technical expertise. The European Union estimates the annual global damage from cybercrime at €5.5 trillion.
According to Jetton, both specialized tools and widely available commercial AI technologies make cybercrime faster and more scalable. Phishing-as-a-service kits enable even inexperienced users to conduct phishing campaigns without significant technical knowledge. AI chatbots are being deployed by fraudsters in large-scale fraud operations to generate personalized phishing emails or create deepfakes for fraudulent purposes.
The lowered entry threshold accelerates participation by organized crime groups. They increasingly outsource technical components through AI-assisted means. Interpol stated in March that AI-driven fraud schemes are four and a half times more profitable than traditional methods. In Africa, terrorist groups are also using online fraud to finance their activities. Interpol is currently coordinating with the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy an international operation against large-scale organized online scams, often carried out by human trafficking victims in specialized compounds.
Jetton emphasizes that advanced AI models such as Anthropic’s Mythos or OpenAI’s GPT-5.5-Cyber could potentially significantly increase the speed of hacking activities, but do not represent a change in the nature of crimes. Instead, AI systems accelerate the scaling of already existing offenses such as scams and phishing. This technological development was the focus of discussions at a meeting of senior Chief Information Security Officers.
Source: ainews-dev.lumi-systems.io · Published May 18, 2026
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