{"id":19642,"date":"2024-12-11T16:28:47","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T15:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/telecomkh.info\/?p=19642"},"modified":"2024-12-11T16:28:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T15:28:47","slug":"mcafees-2024-global-holiday-shopping-scams-study-highlights-growing-concerns-over-ai-powered-scams-including-deepfakes-impacting-holiday-shoppers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/telecomkh.info\/?p=19642","title":{"rendered":"McAfee\u2019s 2024 Global Holiday Shopping Scams Study highlights growing concerns over AI-powered scams, including deepfakes, impacting holiday shoppers"},"content":{"rendered":"

3 in 5 Americans are more worried about holiday scams this year due to the surge in AI-powered deepfakes, with over 1 in 5 overall \u2013 and 1 in 3 among those aged 18-34 \u2013 having fallen victim to scams involving AI-generated celebrity endorsements<\/strong><\/p>\n

McAfee Corp., a global leader in online protection, released findings from its 2024 Global Holiday Shopping Scams Study, revealing how AI-driven scams and deepfake technology are impacting holiday shoppers. The study shows how AI-powered scams \u2013 including deepfakes \u2013 are more sophisticated than ever this season, putting shoppers at higher risk of losing money and changing the way people approach their holiday shopping.
\nThe study reveals that holiday shoppers are on high alert, with 78% of Americans believing cybercriminals ramp up their activity during the holidays and 88% saying AI is impacting the number and sophistication of online scams during the holiday season. The rise in scams is fueling this anxiety, with 59% of Americans saying they\u2019re more concerned about being scammed online than they were at this time last year.
\nMcAfee Labs research indicates these concerns have merit, highlighting a significant surge in unsolicited holiday shopping emails starting in early October. Black Friday emails alone saw a 495% increase from October to early November. Similarly, Christmas-related emails rose by 314% during the same period. This trend suggests that scam-related risks will continue to escalate throughout the holiday season, and consumers should stay aware.
\nIn a world where scammers can use AI-powered tools to create realistic fakes, even messages that appear to be from trusted brands should be closely examined. Emails and texts from trusted brands are top drivers for holiday shopping \u2013 57% of Americans rank emails and 34% rank texts among their biggest motivators. However, many may be taking unnecessary risks when opening these messages: only about half of shoppers consistently verify a message\u2019s authenticity, while nearly 1 in 3 check only sometimes, and close to 1 in 5 never check at all, leaving them vulnerable to scams disguised as real deals.
\nIt\u2019s not just traditional scam messages that are evolving; AI-generated deepfakes now pose a threat, especially to younger shoppers. While 1 in 5 Americans (21%) have unknowingly paid for fake products endorsed by deepfake versions of celebrities, the impact is greater among Gen Z and Millennials, with 1 in 3 people aged 18-34 falling victim to a deepfake scam, compared to around 5% of shoppers aged 55 and up.
\n\u201cThe holidays are a season many look forward to \u2013 from consumers, to retailers, to cybercrooks.,\u201d said Abhishek Karnik, Head of Threat Research at McAfee. \u201cUsing AI-powered tools, scammers can now more quickly and easily create near-perfect imitations of trusted brand messages, celebrity faces and voices, and websites. We\u2019re urging people to stay cautious, think twice about deals that seem too good to be true, and use the best online tools to protect their information. With the latest AI-powered protection, keep your guard up, think before you click, and stay one step ahead to keep your holiday season merry and safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Top Trends from the Global Holiday Shopping Scams Study<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Scam Messages are Surging<\/strong>
\nToday, Americans are inundated with scam messages, many of which are AI-generated, and many are falling victim.
\n\u2022 64% of Americans receive most of their scam messages via email, 20% encounter them primarily via text, and 16% find them on social media.
\n\u2022 59% have seen fake missed delivery or delivery problem notifications, 44% received alerts about a purchase they didn\u2019t make, 37% encountered messages claiming there\u2019s an issue with their credit card or bank account needing urgent attention, and 35% reported seeing Amazon security alerts or notifications about account updates.<\/p>\n

2. Chasing Deals Can Be Costly<\/strong>
\nWith inflation driving up prices, 84% of Americans are on the hunt for the best holiday deals, but the rush for discounts could put them at risk.
\n\u2022 Over half (57%) are likely to start shopping earlier to snag savings.
\n\u2022 38% say they\u2019d jump on a great deal as soon as they see it.
\n\u2022 1 in 5 (19%) are willing to buy from unfamiliar retailers if the price is right.<\/p>\n

3. Social Shoppers Face Evolving Risks<\/strong>
\nMore than 100 million Americans are now shopping directly on social media, with platforms like Instagram and TikTok leading the charge in creating easy and accessible shopping experiences. While social shopping offers convenience, it also exposes consumers to new risks, especially as they shop while distracted \u2013 a significant risk, since just 59% of Americans feel confident they can identify deepfakes or AI-generated content on social media.
\n\u2022 Shoppers are increasingly turning to social channels, with 12% planning to use TikTok Shopping, 7% planning to use Instagram Shopping, and 5% planning to use Pinterest.
\n\u2022 83% of Gen Z consumers say their shopping starts on social media.
\n\u2022 90% say they sometimes see ads from brands they’ve never heard of on social media.
\n\u2022 74% of Americans admit to taking an offbeat opportunity to make a holiday gift purchase online, including 62% in bed late at night when they should be asleep, 32% at work, 29% while on the toilet, and 11% in the bath.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

McAfee\u2019s Tips for Safe Holiday Shopping<\/strong><\/p>\n

To stay safe this season, McAfee recommends that you:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Think before you click<\/strong>. If you receive an email or text message asking you to click on a link, even if it\u2019s a great-sounding deal or indicates it\u2019ll provide useful information such as a package delivery update, it\u2019s best to avoid interacting with the message altogether. Always go directly to the source and interact with reputable companies.
\n\u2022 Use AI to beat AI<\/strong>. From blocking dangerous links that appear on text messages, social media, or web browsers, customers across all platforms can take advantage of the AI-driven technology behind Text Scam Detector to engage with text messages, read emails, and browse the web peacefully and securely.
\n\u2022 Detect deepfakes<\/strong>. Look for slight inconsistencies in content. Is there unnatural blinking, odd eye movements, or unusual-looking hands or teeth ? Does the audio not quite match the speaker\u2019s lips or have a distorted quality?
\n\u2022 Invest in holistic online protection like McAfee+.<\/strong> Use products that provide maximum identity, privacy, and device protection. Help keep yourself and your family safe online with protection that detects and protects against suspicious links and sites (even those that promise to bring the latest in celebrity news!), so you can browse online with greater confidence. For those with an AI PC, take advantage of McAfee Deepfake Detector to alert you of deepfake audio within videos.<\/p>\n

Survey Methodology<\/strong>
\nThe 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.<\/p>\n

Above, photo by Andrea Piacquadio on pexels<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

3 in 5 Americans are more worried about holiday scams this year due to the surge in AI-powered deepfakes, with over 1 in 5 overall \u2013 and 1 in 3 among those aged 18-34 \u2013 having fallen victim to scams involving AI-generated celebrity endorsements McAfee Corp., a global leader in online protection, released findings from … <\/p>\n

Continue reading \u00abMcAfee\u2019s 2024 Global Holiday Shopping Scams Study highlights growing concerns over AI-powered scams, including deepfakes, impacting holiday shoppers\u00bb<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[24],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/telecomkh.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19642"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/telecomkh.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/telecomkh.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomkh.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomkh.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19642"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/telecomkh.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19644,"href":"https:\/\/telecomkh.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19642\/revisions\/19644"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomkh.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/telecomkh.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomkh.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/telecomkh.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}