Scammers have always found ways to exploit people’s trust, through fake charities, fraudulent offers, or deceptive sales tactics. These schemes rely on manipulating vulnerable individuals, often causing significant financial or emotional harm. As technology has advanced, so have scammers’ methods, making their tactics harder to detect and prevent.
Today, one of the most concerning factors in the rise of online fraud is the role of artificial intelligence (AI). With AI, scammers can craft more realistic and personalized attacks, from fake emails and websites to voice-mimicking and social engineering. As AI becomes more sophisticated, the threat of these scams grows, leaving many people feeling increasingly worried about digital deception.
We asked a representative sample of 1,200 Americans about their concerns regarding scams. What we found was that people are increasingly worried about fraud — especially online scams. These concerns are growing, with many more Americans feeling anxious about scams now compared to last year.
Big Takeaways
- 87% of Americans are worried AI is helping scammers.
- 55% say scams are getting worse this year, and only 5% of Americans feel less concern than they did last year.
- Certain demographics worry more than others. Women (64%) are more likely to be “extremely concerned” about scams than men (56%) and Southerners (25%) are nearly 80% more likely than Midwesterners (14%) to be “a lot more” worried than last year.
- Those who never attended college are twice as likely to say they aren’t concerned about AI’s use in scams.
87% of People are Concerned About how AI is Helping Scammers
Almost half of Americans (44%) say they’re “very concerned,” with 43% more “somewhat concerned” about how AI technology is helping scammers create more convincing and personalized scams.
Why be concerned? AI could be utilized to harm Americans in various ways: It can create increasingly realistic product images, payment portals, email links, and even mimic familiar voices to lure Americans into clicking malicious links and divulging personal data. Even when individuals aren’t the target, attackers can use AI-powered tactics to take advantage of the busy season and undermine retailers’ security tactics, gaining access to customer data.
Who’s most worried? Gender makes a difference.
Men are 42% more likely than women to say they’re “not concerned” about online scams, hacks, and data breaches. And overall, women are over 14% more worried than men, with 64% saying they are “somewhat” or “extremely” concerned vs. 56% of men.
While most Americans think that’s worrying, 3% aren’t sweating it at all. That’s 93% fewer than those who expressed the most concern. There are also fewer people than were unconcerned about online scams overall. To put it another way, more Americans are worried about AI’s use in online scams than are worried about online scams in general. It’s not the scams that are giving Americans pause: it’s the AI.
Those who have completed some college or who have graduated with a college or post-grad degree are more likely to say they’re “very” or “somewhat” concerned (89%). However, those who never attended college are twice as likely to say they’re not at all concerned about AI’s use in scams.
| Responses, by education level: | % with some college, or post-grad degree | % who never attended college |
| Very concerned | 44% | 44% |
| Somewhat concerned | 45% | 40% |
| Not very concerned | 9% | 12% |
| Not concerned at all | 2% | 4% |
Over 1/2 of People are More Concerned About Scams, Hacks, or Data Breaches This Year Than Last Year
Worry is rising: More than half of Americans (51%) are more concerned about scams this year than last, while 44% say they feel “about the same.” Just 5% of Americans say their anxiety about cyber threats is decreasing.
Americans’ anxiety may be rising because attacks themselves are increasing: DDoS attacks are up 46%, phishing scams related to large events like the Olympics made headlines this year, and almost half of Americans have been targeted in shopping scams.
And while 44% of Americans feel about the same as last year, among those whose concern levels have shifted, the trend is overwhelmingly toward heightened anxiety. Americans expressing greater worry this year outnumber those with less concern 10 to 1.
| Responses: | % of respondents |
| A lot more | 19% |
| A little bit more | 32% |
| About the same | 44% |
| A little bit less | 3% |
| Way less | 2% |
| Grand Total | 100.0% |
Where Americans live is linked to their cyber safety anxiety, with 25% of Southerners saying they are “a lot more” concerned this year compared to last year. That's almost 80% higher than midwestern counterparts, where only 14% are “a lot more” concerned in 2024.
Northeasterners are the least likely to see their worry subside this year, with none saying they’re worrying “way less” about cyber scams than last year.
86% of People Were Concerned about Online Scams During the 2024 Holiday Season
Prior to December 2024, we asked survey respondents if they were more worried about online scams going into the holiday season, and 86% of people said yes.
Public WiFi networks crowded with travelers, retail cart credit card data extractions, and even fraudulent apps that mimic legitimate companies all threaten the public during the holiday season. And the public is more aware of these scams than ever before: 61% of Americans have had their personal data breached.
Scams can seem ubiquitous. So it makes sense that 86% of respondents expressed some level of concern, with more than a fifth of the country “extremely concerned” about scams. The highest percentage of Americans were “somewhat concerned” about scams during the holiday season, at 39%.
Methodology
This AI scam survey was conducted via Pollfish, with 1200 American respondents, on November 20, 2024. Survey technology includes a representative sample reflecting the demographics of the US across state residence, sex, race, income level, and age.
