AI makes holiday shopping scams harder to spot

As we approach the busiest time of the year for online shopping, scammers and phisherfolk are also preparing for a seasonal bonanza. 1Password has surveyed 2,000 American adults to learn how people are protecting themselves -- or not -- from phishing scams.

It finds that 66 percent of respondents say they’ve noticed more 'scammy' messages, phone calls, and ads since AI became more prevalent. In addition 82 percent of respondents have been phished, or have come dangerously close to it.

This suggests a degree of overconfidence as 95 percent say they were able to spot the red flags of a scam. Interestingly younger generations are more likely to become victims. Gen Z (70 percent) and Millennials (67 percent) are more likely to be phished compared to Gen X (57 percent) and Boomers (46 percent).

While misspellings and poor grammar are warning signs for 49 percent these have become less common due to widespread AI use by scammers. Pressure and instilling a sense of urgency is also a common tactic, but just 35 percent of respondents consider this a red flag.

Eagerness to grab a bargain catches people out too, 41 percent of the respondents who clicked a phishing link were trying to access a special deal, price, or sale. The rise of social media shopping is an issue too, with 60 percent of social media users regretting an impulse buy they made on a social platform.

It seems people don’t learn from their mistakes either, a worrying 76 percent of Americans who've fallen victim to a shopping scam still reuse passwords across multiple accounts. If you have fallen for a scam good password hygiene and using multi-factor authentication can limit the damage.

You can read more on the 1Password blog.

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