Overview
- BMO’s Larry Zelvin says AI has accelerated scam frequency and sophistication, allowing criminals to mimic trusted language and branding at scale.
- McAfee reports 96% of U.S. adults plan to shop online, only 38% feel confident spotting scams, and 22% say they have fallen for one.
- AARP finds 89% of adults encountered at least one scam this year, with fake shipping texts and deceptive social ads especially common.
- Scam tactics flagged include cloned retailer sites, phishing, deepfake influencer videos, QR code redirects, fake delivery notices, and TikTok Shop impostors.
- Banks and security experts urge direct navigation to retailers, URL and HTTPS checks, credit cards over debit or payment apps, purchase alerts, and avoiding public Wi‑Fi.