'Grey's Anatomy' star Chris Carmack, wife fall victim to online AI scam, now raising awareness

CHICAGO -- Scammers are getting smarter and now using artificial intelligence to trick you.

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ABC7's I-Team found that some companies are now stopping AI scams with AI technology.

A "Grey's Anatomy" actor shared his story about popular scam texts and the new AI tech that could catch them.

Actor Chris Carmack and his wife Erin said they were both recently targeted by scammers.

Carmack almost fell for the tollway scam that asks you to pay a so-called delinquent toll.

"It was right after we got back from Florida," the ABC actor said. "So, it was a very plausible phishing expedition... I would have just clicked the link."

That link can have malware or take your payment information, but Carmack did not fall for it.

He said he had just paid them all, so he called the tollways, and the company quickly told him to not click the link.

Erin Carmack lost about $2,000 to a fake online vendor of patio furniture cushions.

"I couldn't believe I had fallen for a scam and lost my money," she said.

Now, the Carmack's are teaming up with McAfee to raise awareness. The company is now rolling out the new Scam Detector tool.

It uses AI to analyze URLs, text messages, emails and other scams which may be generated by AI.

Steve Grobman is the chief technology officer of McAfee, a well-known online protection company.

"2025 is turning out to be the year of the advanced scam," Grobman said.

Grobman said the company's tech is free for users who have plans. Other companies like Norton 360, Bitdefender and Google also now offering similar tools.

"The bad actors are using AI as well, and they're hyper personalizing the scams that consumers get whether it's knowing where you live," Grobman said. "So, you get a scam from your local transportation department, saying you've missed a toll, or whether it comes from your local government saying that you've not made jury duty."

But what if you want to fight these scams the old-fashioned way?

Chicago Police Officer Colleen Carcione says "you are not alone."

Chase Bank and Chicago Police hosted a recent seminar for seniors and caregivers at Chicago Commons.

"Take a step back, relax, think it through contact someone you trust before you send money," Jared Evans, the Chase Chicago Community manager said.

Officials are warning people to be wary of any text or email asking for money. You can make sure the website URLs start with "https" and government links should end in ".gov."

"Any text I get with a link, or even without a link telling me I owe money-I'm going to put it right into the scam detector," actor Carmack said.

AI scam tech can flag threats, but it can also confirm that other texts and emails are real.