How AI Deepfakes and Scams Are Changing the Way We Shop Online | McAfee Blog

As 89% of Americans plan to shop online during this holiday shopping season, many say they’re more concerned about being scammed online than they were last year. One big reason why—AI deepfakes.  

Our 2024 Global Holiday Shopping Scams Study uncovered that 70% of American shoppers say AI-driven scams are changing the way they shop online. 

In all, they think scam emails and messages will be more believable than ever and that it’ll be harder to tell what’s a real message from a retailer or delivery service. With that in mind, 58% of people say they’ll be more alert than ever to when it comes to fake messages. Another 11% said they’ll do less online shopping because of how AI is helping cybercriminals. 

Overall, people say their confidence in spotting online scams is low, particularly when it comes to scams featuring AI-created content. Only 59% of Americans feel confident they can identify deepfakes or AI-generated content. 

The effectiveness of deepfake shopping scams has been shown already, 1 in 5 Americans (21%) said they unknowingly paid for fake products endorsed by deepfake celebrities. For Gen Z and Millennials, that number leaps yet higher, with 1 in 3 people aged 18-34 falling victim to a deepfake scam. Meanwhile, older Americans have avoided these scams, with only 5% of shoppers aged 55 and up saying that they’ve fallen victim to one. 

Additionally, 1 in 5 Americans (20%) say they or someone they know has fallen victim to a deepfake shopping scam, celebrity-based or otherwise. 70% of those people lost money to the deepfake holiday scam. Of those who lost money: 

• More than 1 of 4 (27%) lost more than $500. 

• More than 1 in 10 (11%) lost more than $1,000. 

The Top Holiday Shopping Trends We Spotted This Year

Across our research, three big findings stood out. The volume of scam messages is only increasing, chasing deals could lead to scams, and shopping on social media has risks of its own.

Scam messages continue to rise  

64% of Americans say they receive most of their scam messages via email, 20% encounter them primarily via text, and 16% find them on social media. These messages fall into several categories: 

• 59% of people reported fake missed delivery or delivery problem notifications. 

• Nearly half (44%) said they received alerts about a purchase they didn’t make. 

• Reports of fake messages about credit card or account issues were also high, at 37%. 

• 35% reported seeing phony Amazon security alerts or notifications. 

Chasing deals can be costly  

As the holiday season warms up, 84% of Americans say they’re on the hunt for the best holiday deals. But the rush for discounts could put them at risk. Scammers notoriously underprice hot items to lure in victims. 

• 38% of Americans say they’d jump on a great deal as soon as they see it.  

• Nearly 1 in 5 are willing to buy from unfamiliar retailers if the price is right. 

• 64% of Americans say they are likely to make a purchase from a new retailer they find through social media for holiday shopping, if the deal is good.  

Social shoppers face new kinds of risks 

More than 100 million Americans shop on social media.i While social shopping offers convenience, it also exposes people to new risks, especially as scammers use these platforms to reach victims. We found that shoppers are increasingly turning to social channels, often in significant ways.  

• 90% of Americans say they sometimes see ads from brands they’ve never heard of on social media—which may be legitimate companies or fronts for a scam. 

• 83% of Gen Z consumers say their shopping starts on social media, making it the first stop for holiday deals.  

• Overall, 12% of Americans say they plan to use TikTok Shopping, 7% plan to use Instagram Shopping, and 5% plan to use Pinterest. 

Protecting yourself from scams while shopping for the holidays  

Stick with known, legitimate retailers online 

This is a great one to start with. Directly typing in the correct address for online stores and retailers is a prime way to avoid scammers online. In the case of retailers that you don’t know much about, the U.S. Better Business Bureau (BBB) asks shoppers to do their research and make sure that retailer has a good reputation. The BBB makes that easier with a listing of retailers you can search simply by typing in their name. 

Pay with a credit card instead of your debit card  

In the U.S., the Fair Credit Billing Act offers the public protection against fraudulent charges on credit cards. Citizens can dispute charges of over $50 for goods and services that were never delivered or otherwise billed incorrectly. (Note that many credit card companies have their own policies that improve upon the Fair Credit Billing Act as well.) However, debit cards don’t get the same protection under the Act. Avoid using a debit card while shopping online and use your credit card instead.  

Go unlisted. 

Scammers have to get your contact info from somewhere. Often, they get it from online data brokers and other “people finder” sites. These sites collect and sell massive amounts of personal info to any buyer. You can remove that info from some of the riskiest data brokers with our Personal Data Cleanup service. It can help you remove that info, and with select products it can even manage the removal for you. Likewise, set your social media accounts to “friends and family” only so that your profile info doesn’t show up in search results. 

Think before you click.  

Phishing emails, texts, and sites lure people into clicking links that might lead to malware or handing over their personal info. And they look more believable than ever. If you receive an email or text message asking you to click on a link, it’s best to avoid interacting with the message altogether. Even if it’s a great-sounding deal or indicates it’ll provide useful info such as a parcel delivery update. Always go direct to the source and interact with reputable companies.  

Use AI to beat AI.  

Yet better, you can use the combo of our Scam Protection and Web Protection found in our McAfee+ plans. Powered by our AI technology, they detect sketchy links and keep you from clicking on them by mistake. 

Remember that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.  

Many scams are effective because the scammer creates a false sense of urgency or preys on a heightened emotional state. Pause before you rush to interact with any message that is threatening or urgent, especially if it is from an unknown or unlikely sender. The same very much applies for deals and sales online. Scammers will pop up bogus online ads and stores for sought-after gifts, of course with no intention of shipping you anything. Look out for offers that seem priced too low and hard-to-find items that are miraculously in stock at an online store you’ve never heard of. Stick with reputable retailers instead. 

 Survey methodology 

The survey, which focused on the topic of deepfakes, scam messages, and holiday shopping, was conducted online in November 2024. 7,128 adults, age 18+, In 7 countries (US, Australia, India, UK, France, Germany, Japan), participated in the study.