Officials warn AI-powered scams on the rise during holiday shopping season

Shoppers are seeking out Boxing Week deals, while scammers are looking for new victims. CTV’s Hannah Schmidt explains.

If you’re hunting for Boxing Week deals, you might want to look very closely at the ads and promotions that come across your screen.

Consumer experts are warning that scammers are using artificial intelligence (AI) more often to make schemes harder to spot.

“Boxing Day deals, they’re tempting and scammers, they count on it,” said Angela Dennis, president of Better Business Bureau Central Ontario. “Watch out for too good to be true deals. Really, at the end of the day, it’s that old adage.”

Dennis said fraudsters use social media to lure bargain hunters, tamper with gift cards and trick people into sending personal information

“If they’re asking you to pay by buying and sending gift card codes, that’s definitely a scam,” she warned. “Legitimate businesses never asked for gift card payments outside of their own store. Don’t necessarily click on those sponsored ads at the top of the search. Look for that domain that is for that real retailer.”

Dennis said some fraudsters will create fake websites to sell items, ultimately tricking people into sending personal information.

“Scammers are always creating new and improved lookalike websites. So, make sure with that URL, you’re really checking it.”

She explained that AI is now being used to generate those fake websites, as well as realistic customer service chats and even cloned voices, all factors that can make scams harder to detect.

“It’s assisting scammers in looking more legitimate and getting more targeting,” Dennis said. “So, the other thing to be careful about this time of year are those phishing emails and texts. They’re extremely common.”

“Do your due diligence...and that’s typically calling the person that sent the email to try and make sure: is this a legitimate email that you sent or is the link that you’re sending me something that’s actually sent by you?” a Waterloo Region resident told CTV News.

“Obviously, cyber security is going to be huge and even more huge going into the future as AI becomes more and more of an issue,” another resident said.

It’s a tricky situation that’s costing Canadians hundreds of millions of dollars.

As of Sept. 30, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reported that Canadians lost approximately $544 million dollars in fraud scams. They also reported that there were approximately 22,113 fraud victims across the country.

“Most people don’t report it,” Dennis said. “They’re embarrassed. So, that isn’t even a true number. That’s probably only five to 10 per cent of the actual loss that’s happened here in Canada.”

The Ontario Provincial Police said there are clear warning signs shoppers should look for and ways to protect against scams, including:

• Being wary of websites that contain grammatical errors and spelling mistakes.
• Only buying from companies or individuals you know by reputation or from past experience.
• Looking for reviews but remember that some can be fake.
• Analyzing the seller’s profile: where are they located? How old is their profile? Are they using a stock photo as their profile picture?
• Using a credit card when shopping online - many offer protections and may give you a refund.
• Knowing the market value of the item you’re buying.
• If a deal sounds too good to be true, it likely is.
• Fraudsters will often create a sense of urgency and try to pressure a buyer into a deal.

With AI making scams more convincing, Dennis said trusting your instincts and taking a moment to double-check could protect more than just your wallet.

“There’s always that sense of urgency, and that we need to do it now. But take those five minutes and do your research. Give it some thought before moving forward,” she suggested.

“If you see an email that you’re a little bit suspicious about, call the person, try to reach out to them, and you can do your own sort of two-factor authentication by just double checking,” one local resident said.

More information on the different kinds of scams to be aware of can be found on the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s website.