{"id":592201,"date":"2026-04-18T18:13:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T18:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/592201\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T18:13:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T18:13:17","slug":"how-is-ai-making-it-harder-for-online-shoppers-to-spot-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/592201\/","title":{"rendered":"How is AI making it harder for online shoppers to spot scams?"},"content":{"rendered":"

SEATTLE \u2014 As artificial intelligence makes it easier to create convincing websites and marketing, online shoppers are finding it increasingly difficult to tell legitimate businesses from scams, according to the Better Business Bureau.<\/p>\n

Complaints about online shopping issues are widespread, cutting across age groups, income levels, and locations, according to the BBB. <\/p>\n

While some reports involve poor store policies, many point to outright scams \u2014 and those scams are becoming more sophisticated.<\/p>\n

Cameron Nakashima of the BBB says scammers are now using AI to generate realistic websites, product images, customer testimonials and social media posts that can deceive consumers.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven legitimate businesses are using AI,\u201d Nakashima said. \u201cThat makes it harder to distinguish between real and fake at first glance.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the past year, the BBB serving Washington state received about 740 complaints and 1,600 scam reports tied to online shopping. <\/p>\n

Consumers reported losses totaling more than $700,000.<\/p>\n

One recent example highlights how convincing these scams can be.<\/p>\n

\"AA screenshot of the complaint filed with the BBB. (courtesy BBB){ }<\/p>\n

A website operating under the name \u201cEllie Seattle\u201d advertised handcrafted stained-glass lamps and presented itself as a small U.S.-based business. Customers who placed orders reported receiving cheap plastic items \u2014 or nothing at all \u2014 and were unable to get refunds.<\/p>\n

The BBB identified several red flags on the site:<\/p>\n

Uniform deep discounts: All items were listed at the same price and marked down by about 80%, paired with \u201cgoing out of business\u201d messaging and limited-supply warnings designed to create urgency.Misleading return policies: While the site advertised \u201ceasy returns,\u201d customers were required to pay high international shipping costs, making refunds impractical.Unverified reviews: The company claimed to have tens of thousands of satisfied customers, but did not link to independent review platforms such as BBB.org, Google, or Trustpilot.\"AA screenshot of the complaint filed with the BBB. (courtesy BBB){ }<\/p>\n

\u201cThese tactics are designed to build trust quickly but don\u2019t hold up under closer inspection,\u201d Nakashima said.<\/p>\n

The BBB urges shoppers to take a few precautions before making online purchases:<\/p>\n

Scrutinize deals: Deep discounts, flash sales, or unusually priced items should prompt additional research.Review return policies carefully: A \u201chassle-free\u201d return claim may hide costly or complicated requirements.Verify the seller independently: Check third-party review sites such as BBB.org rather than relying on testimonials posted on a company\u2019s own website.<\/p>\n

Consumer advocates say taking a few extra minutes to research a business can help prevent financial losses and protect personal information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEATTLE \u2014 As artificial intelligence makes it easier to create convincing websites and marketing, online shoppers are finding…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[182,181,507,74],"class_list":["post-592201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}