The NewYorkTimes.com reported “A criminal could be masquerading as a celebrity, web store or family member asking for your money. Detecting scams requires a new approach.” The May 28, 2026 article entitled ” A.I. Is Making Scams Hard to Spot. Here’s How to Protect Yourself” (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/technology/personaltech/scams-ai.html) included these comments from reporter Brian X. Chen:
An email riddled with typos. A customer service agent with a thick accent. A blurry Craigslist photo.
Those used to be telltale signs of internet scams. But today, thanks to generative artificial intelligence, those red flags have mostly vanished. Low-cost chatbots, image generators and voice-cloning tools make it simple for criminals to produce pristine copy, create seemingly legitimate websites and even replicate identities.
A.I.-powered internet scams have become so convincing that I confess I almost fell for one. While mindlessly scrolling through TikTok videos, I came across an ad for a pair of Hoka sneakers marked 80 percent off. When I tapped on it, a website loaded that looked like an authentic clearance outlet for the shoe brand.
But after I added the shoes to the shopping cart, my Spidey sense went off. A quick web search revealed that users on Reddit had been scammed by this site; Hoka had even published a warning about a surge of fake web stores masquerading as its brand.
These look-alike websites are one of several A.I.-fueled internet scams that have recently been on the rise, security experts say. The F.B.I. reported last month that cybercriminals had defrauded Americans of nearly $21 billion last year, with about $893 million in losses linked to A.I.
Because A.I. makes it effortless to build websites and digital avatars, we may have to rethink our approach to protecting ourselves from online fraud.
“Instead of looking for indicators of what’s bad, now you need to be verifying if it’s good,” said Mark Beare, a general manager for Malwarebytes, an internet security firm. “It’s not a Nigerian prince anymore. It’s a look-alike site for REI or eBay or any one of those known, reputable brands.”
Scam ads have been so rampant that legal complaints against the social media giant Meta are mounting. Last month, the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit advocacy group, filed a complaint accusing Meta of misleading users about its efforts to combat scams. The complaint cited examples including scam ads for baby gear and free phones. California’s Santa Clara County filed a similar lawsuit against Meta this month.
In response, Meta said that last year, it removed 159 million scam ads and took down nearly 11 million accounts on Facebook and Instagram associated with known producers of scams. It added that it was investing in new technology to combat scams.
What are you doing?
First published at https://www.vogelitlaw.com/blog/are-you-protectingnbsp-yourself-from-ai-scams