\u201cThat\u2019s exactly what scammers exploit. These attacks feel more convincing because they\u2019re tied to real events in people\u2019s lives, when they are already sharing sensitive information,\u201d Owens said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs more of these life moments move online, digital literacy becomes critical. New Zealanders need to know how to verify who they are dealing with, be wary of messages designed to create urgency, and slow down before acting.\u201d<\/p>\n
The report found artificial intelligence (AI) is now part of everyday decision-making, with two in five Kiwis using the tool to support major life events.<\/p>\n
However, many remain uncertain about how to identify emerging digital threats including scams and deepfakes.<\/p>\n
Nearly a quarter (24%) of Kiwis said they are not confident they could identify an AI-generated scam, while 20% are very or extremely confident.<\/p>\n
Awareness of AI-related privacy risks is similarly uneven, with 34% either unaware of the risks of sharing personal information with AI tools or unsure of the specifics.<\/p>\n
Those in their 30s and 40s are especially exposed, with 23% having personally been scammed, well above the national average (14%).<\/p>\n
\u201cAI is quickly becoming part of how New Zealanders make decisions and manage important life moments, but it isn\u2019t risk-free,\u201d Owens said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople need to be careful about the personal information they share with AI tools, particularly when it relates to finances or their identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Owens said AI can be incredibly useful too.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut they should consider where their information is going and when to seek a trusted source before acting on AI-generated advice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThat\u2019s exactly what scammers exploit. These attacks feel more convincing because they\u2019re tied to real events in people\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522691,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[109425,192,138,2837,1874,10053,32655,807,424,661,9062,3025,2686,111,139,69,1642,1518,92569,5257,544,9100,4758,17902,165],"class_list":["post-522690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-advantage","tag-are","tag-business","tag-during","tag-found","tag-house","tag-hunting","tag-kiwis","tag-life","tag-major","tag-moments","tag-most","tag-moving","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-online","tag-research","tag-scammers","tag-significant","tag-some","tag-such","tag-taking","tag-targeting","tag-their"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}