"Right away, I'm thinking to myself, is this something that I've been expecting?"

According to a CNET survey, 96% of U.S. adults receive at least one 1scam email, text, or phone call each week, 90% say they get scam emails 2on a weekly basis.

CNET's Dashia Milden says the scam calls and texts are 3surging, too.

"My phone rings 4constantly, and that¡¯s at 83% — still very high — followed by text messages, of course, at 82%."

In 2024 alone, U.S. adults reported losing a 5collective 6whopping $470 million in those 7sneaky tech scams, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Milden says 8fraudsters have gotten so good at crafting their messages and creating 9a sense of urgency that people need to stay 10vigilant — especially on phone calls.

"If you don't know who that person is after you have said hello, don't say anything further. Hang up. And the reason why I say that is so important is because artificial intelligence has 11evolved to where scammers are actually able to 12clone your voice and your responses — to unfortunately use those for scams later."

Aside from following basic internet safety guidelines, such as not clicking on unknown links and not answering unknown calls, Milden says there are other ways to keep criminals from impacting your finances.

"Right now is a really good time to 13freeze your credit, so that way, if they happen to get access to your information — hey, your credit's already frozen."