Next week is National Consumer Protection Week, and Americans lost $1.2 billion from scams in 2025.
It's a sobering statement, and one of the reasons the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) is raising awareness about red flags consumers should never ignore.
I had the chance to interview Eric Shen, the inspector in charge of USPIS. He said one of the problems is many scammers are using artificial intelligence.
“Why do you think AI-powered scams are harder to detect and more convincing?” I asked.
Well, Alicia, with voice cloning, even image cloning, you may think that that person's actually calling you or a video that's sent to you. You're seeing some of that manipulation of an actual person. So, it's harder to really differentiate. And that's why we always tell everyone now especially your viewers is to kind of take a step back and do some homework. Make sure that the person that's calling you is actually that person," Shen said.
Shen wants you to know how to stop scams in their tracks.
- If you receive a phone call from a relative or government agency wanting money or personal information, hang up and verify it's really them by using known numbers
- Ignore unknown texts or emails and never click on links you recieve
- Paus before acting on fear or urgency, because scammers rely on pressure tactics
- Report mail-related scams to USPIS.gov/report
Shen said even if a scam starts on the phone or digitally, mail is often utilized in some form during fraud schemes. That's why USPIS wants you to include them when you report to law enforcement about being targeted by a scam
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