Federal Credit Union Bank Reports an Increase in Impersonation Scams

Author: Amy Asubonteng

June 11, 2026

HRRC applauds the transparency and call-to-action of RBFCU, emphasizing the confrontation of impersonation scams dealing with monetary and confidential information. As AI-related scams appear to be on the rise, HRRC raises concerns about the impact of AI-related data breaches, especially pertaining to the right to privacy or personal property. In addition, HRRC advocates for personal knowledge and precautionary measures to be taken to protect oneself and loved ones from these kinds of cams, as also given by RBFCU’s press release.

[Image credit: Adrian Vieriu via Pexels] 

Major institutions are warning the public about artificial intelligence models (AI) and their impact on scams. RBFCU, the Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union, mentions the rise of artificial intelligence bank fraud to its members in its press release published on June 5, 2026. RBFCU is a banking provider with clients around the world, and in the press release, RBFCU Aims to Increase Awareness of Rising Impersonation Scams, it was found that members of the credit union received fake calls from external actors impersonating the company, as told by the Senior Vice President of Central Operations, Brian Munsterteiger. The credit union reported an increase of spoofing, with an average of 100 additional cases of impersonation scams per month this quarter.

Impersonation scams involve a scammer pretending to be another person or organization, typically one that is often deemed trustworthy. Spoofing occurs when scammers manipulate the caller ID so that the call appears to be coming from a legitimate number. Fraud occurs when scammers use this impression to claim that the member’s account has been compromised or is at risk, in an attempt to steal their money. In addition to raising awareness, RBFCU’s Enterprise Fraud Team is currently working to prevent and limit these fraudsters. This circumstance has prompted RBFCU to raise awareness about impersonation scams, particularly with spoofing. The credit union also rightfully recognizes how such scams primarily impact senior citizens, especially since many do not have the ability to financially recover. 

According to Munsterteiger, artificial intelligence has only made the scams more convincing, as it can copy natural language and produce a familiar voice. The FBI, or the Federal Bureau of Investigation, recently released the 2025 Internet Crime Report earlier this year, showing that cyber crimes defrauded Americans by almost $21 billion dollars, up by almost $5 billion from 2024. Moreover, artificial intelligence-related cases, along with cryptocurrency, were amongst the highest descriptors for money lost ($). Both phishing and spoofing also remained the top cybercrime category reported in 2024, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. 

Pertaining to humanitarian rights, the way in which data breaches are used for scammers’ fraudulent and thieving behavior presents a threat to citizens’ human right to digital privacy and to the ownership of property. As supported by the United Nations, human rights apply to the cyber world, meaning both the right to privacy and property persist in the digital age. By intentionally misleading consumers, scammers exploit innocent people into giving away confidential information and material not meant to be shared. To further protect privacy and ownership, both general awareness and a limitation on impersonation scams and generative AI are needed.

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Glossary

• Artificial intelligence: the capability of computer systems or algorithms to imitate intelligent human behavior 

• Confidential: intended for or restricted to the use of a particular person, group, or class: private, secret

• Consumer: one that utilizes economic goods 

• Cryptocurrency: any form of currency that only exists digitally, that usually has no central issuing or regulating authority but instead uses a decentralized system to record transactions and manage the issuance of new units, and that relies on cryptography to prevent counterfeiting and fraudulent transactions 

• Cyber: of, relating to, or involving computers or computer networks (such as the Internet) 

• Data breach: An instance or situation in which confidential information about a person or organization is exposed, either accidentally or as the result of a cyber attack, to people who do not have permission to access or use it. 

• Exploit: to make use of meanly or unfairly for one's own advantage 

• Fraud: deceit, trickery specifically : an act, expression, omission, or concealment calculated to induce another to part with something of value or to surrender a legal right

• Fraudulent: characterized by, based on, or done by fraud : deceitful 

• Generative AI: artificial intelligence that is capable of making new content (such as images or text) in response to a submitted prompt (such as a query) by learning from a large reference database of examples 

• Manipulate: to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means, especially to one's own advantage

• Phishing: the practice of tricking Internet users (as through the use of deceptive email messages or websites) into revealing personal or confidential information which can then be used illicitly 

• Scam: to deceive and defraud (someone) 

• Scammer: one who perpetrates a scam; a person who commits or participates in a fraudulent scheme or operation 

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References

1. 2025_IC3Report.pdf 

2. Cryptocurrency and AI Scams Bilk Americans of Billions — FBI 

3. RBFCU Aims to Increase Awareness of Rising Impersonation Scams | RBFCU - Credit Union 

4. Online Scams and Attacks in America Today | Pew Research Center 

5. ksat.com/news/local/2026/06/06/impersonation-scams-on-the-rise-rbfcu-warns-of-increase-of-ai-bank-fraud/ 

6. What Is Digital Privacy and Its Importance? - IEEE Digital Privacy 

7. Illustrated Universal Declaration of Human Rights | OHCHR