Survey: 87% of Americans worried about AI's role in online scams
The vast majority of Americans are concerned about scams this holiday season, especially with AI now being utilized by bad actors online.
Eighty-six percent of Americans are concerned about scams, and those who are “extremely concerned” outnumber those who aren’t concerned at all, according to a new survey from cybersecurity company Upwind. About the same number — 87% — are worried AI is helping scammers by creating deceptive links, portals and more trick consumers.
Almost half of Americans (44%) say they’re “very concerned,” with 43% more “somewhat concerned” about how AI technology is helping scammers create more convincing and personalized scams. Only 3% are not concerned at all about AI’s role in holiday scams.
Only 14% of Americans aren’t worried about holiday scams. More than half (55%) say scams are getting worse this year, and only 5% feel less concern than they did last year.
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Those who have completed some college or who have graduated with a college or post-grad degree are more likely to say they’re “very” or “somewhat” concerned (89%), while those who never attended college are twice as likely to say they’re not at all concerned about AI’s use in scams.
“AI could be utilized to harm Americans in various ways,” said Upwind. “It can create increasingly realistic product images, payment portals, email links and even mimic familiar voices to lure Americans into clicking malicious links and divulging personal data. Even when individuals aren’t the target, attackers can use AI-powered tactics to take advantage of the busy season and undermine retailers’ security tactics, gaining access to customer data.”
Overall, more than half of Americans (51%) are more concerned about scams this year than last, while 44% say they feel “about the same.” Just 5% of Americans say their anxiety about cyber threats is decreasing.
Upwind’s holiday AI scam survey was conducted via Pollfish, with 1200 American respondents, on Nov. 20, 2024. The full report can be found here.
