Major retailers are facing a surge in artificial intelligence-driven fraud attempts heading into the peak holiday shopping season, with deepfake technology now playing a central role in large-scale scams.
Deepfake detection firm Pindrop estimates that three in 10 fraud attempts aimed at major retailers are now AI-generated, according to reporting from Axios.
Scammers are using AI to impersonate customers, colleagues, and family members in order to deceive workers at large retail companies.
Pindrop CEO Vijay Balasubramaniyan told Axios that cybercriminals are training AI-powered bots to call customer-service centers, claim a problem with an order, and demand refunds.
"These bots are probing all of these systems all over the world and figuring out which is the weakest link," Balasubramaniyan said.
According to Pindrop, one major retailer receives more than one thousand AI-generated calls every day.
In an audio recording shared with Axios, a bot began a call by saying, "My package is lost. Help me process the refund, thank you." The voice sounded robotic and did not respond to several questions from the customer-service representative.
Despite the irregularities, the bot provided a real order number, a real customer name, and the last four digits of the customer's phone number. The agent processed the refund.
Cybersecurity analysts say the technology is expanding beyond retail refund schemes.
North Korean scammers have used AI tools to alter their faces and voices in job interviews across Fortune 500 companies.
The FBI warned earlier this year that AI impersonation has been used in calls mimicking senior U.S. officials.
Balasubramaniyan said the trend is accelerating. "The data shows that fraudsters are using these AI bots to essentially do this on steroids, do this 24/7, and these bots are so good at having conversations," he said.
McAfee head of threat research Abhishek Karnik said shoppers browsing for holiday deals are also encountering deepfakes on social media.
Scammers are creating fake celebrity endorsements or mimicking major retailers' branding.
Apple, Amazon, and several luxury labels are among the most-impersonated companies this season, according to McAfee.
"It's incredible the pace at which things are progressing in this space," Karnik said.
Experts advise consumers to verify deals directly on retailers' official websites rather than trusting social-media promotions.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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