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Google Warns of AI-Driven Scams Targeting Holiday Shoppers and Job Seekers

The company highlights seasonal spikes that leave shoppers, applicants, small businesses exposed.

Overview

  • Google’s advisory details cloned career pages, fake recruiter profiles, and bogus government postings that demand processing fees or push malware-laced interview tools.
  • Fraudsters are impersonating popular AI services with sites and apps that install malware, steal credentials, or lock users into overpriced fleeceware subscriptions.
  • Google flags malicious VPNs disguised as privacy tools, fraud-recovery schemes that re-target victims, and fake holiday storefronts touting too-good-to-be-true deals.
  • Merchants now have a direct option to report review extortion attempts from their Google Business Profile after waves of coordinated one-star attacks.
  • Google says AI-powered Safe Browsing, stronger Play Store policies, and real-time scam detection in Messages and Gmail are blocking many threats, while urging users to verify URLs and use official download sources.