Expand / Collapse search
☰

Here's why your spam texts are getting more personal

By
Published  August 28, 2025 9:13pm MST
Technology
FOX 10 Phoenix
Scammers get personal with AI-powered spam texts

Scammers get personal with AI-powered spam texts

A security expert warns that spam text messages are becoming more frequent and personal, with hackers using publicly available AI to target victims. FOX 10's Taylor Wirtz has this story.

The Brief

    • A security expert warns that spam text messages are becoming more frequent and personal, with hackers using publicly available AI to target victims.
    • The expert advises against responding to the messages, as people can lose life savings to the scams, which are now targeting younger generations as well as senior citizens.

PHOENIX - "Do you have a second to chat?" or "Any plans today?" are just a few examples of recent spam messages which are now designed to make you think the sender simply has the wrong number.

What they're saying:

Tim Roemer, a former head of the Arizona Department of Homeland Security and now chief security officer at Scottsdale-based GMI, warns that these messages are not friendly.

"I warn everybody, don't respond to these. Don't click on anything. Don't believe it," Roemer said.

Spam texts and calls are becoming more frequent. One Arizona State University student said they "just deleted a bunch" off their phone, while another said they get "five or six" a day.

While some are obviously fake, like those impersonating UPS or toll agencies, many messages have become more personal. One ASU student said the messages are "pretty relevant to my life," which can be confusing.

Examples include texts asking things like "What time is your flight?" or for advice on what to do in Arizona.

Dig deeper:

Roemer said the messages are becoming more personal for two reasons.

"Number one, hackers and criminals have access to publicly available AI that allows them to write things in perfect English that they couldn't do before," he said. "Then, number two, us as the victims and the consumers in all of this. We're still putting way too much information about ourselves online and on social media. They're utilizing that information via social engineering to target us even further."

While older generations have traditionally been more susceptible to these messages, Roemer said that is changing as technology advances.

"The younger generation has grown up with technology at their fingertips," Roemer said. "They have this natural tendency to want to trust things on technology. So just keep in mind it's not just the senior citizens anymore."

ASU students said it is not easy to tell what is real anymore.

Roemer said the best thing to do is block the number and delete the message. Most importantly, do not respond.

"People will lose their entire life savings over trusting somebody over a mediated communication device," Roemer warned.

The Source

  • FOX 10's Taylor Wirtz reported on this story through interviews with ASU students and Tim Roemer, a former head of the Arizona Department of Homeland Security and now chief security officer at Scottsdale-based GMI.

TechnologyNewsArizonaArizona State University