9 Out of 10 Americans Have Run Into a Cyber Scam, and AI Is Making It Worse

Nine out of ten Americans have been targeted by a scam or cyberattack online, according to a new report. The report was released by Consumer Reports, Aspen Digital, and the Global Cyber Alliance. Researchers surveyed nearly 5,000 adults across the United States in March and April. One of the biggest findings is that artificial intelligence, or AI, is making digital scams faster, cheaper, and much harder to spot. About 17% of people said they had already lost money because of a digital security breach.

AI is a type of computer technology that can think and learn in some ways like a human. Scammers are using AI to create more convincing tricks that are aimed right at you. Before AI, it took a lot of time and effort to send personalized scam messages to people. Now, AI can help criminals write thousands of personal messages in just minutes. That makes it much easier for scammers to fool people who might normally be careful.

One expert explained how this works. If a scammer gets your personal information from a data breach — like your home address — they can use AI to write a message that looks like it came from your bank. The message might offer you a great deal on a home loan, for example. Because it includes details about you, it feels real. "AI allows scammers to make better use of the personal data they have on consumers, and lowers the cost of reaching even more people with those personalized messages," said Stacey Higginbotham, a cybersecurity fellow at Consumer Reports.

Higginbotham also said that one in every five scams now includes some kind of personal detail about the target. That number is expected to grow fast. "More data breaches mean there's more personal information out there, and AI makes it easy to craft personalized messages," she said. Even people who are good at spotting old-fashioned scams — like emails with spelling mistakes and weird links — can be fooled by these new AI-powered tricks. Some scams even use "deepfake" technology, which can make a fake video or voice sound completely real.

Cybersecurity expert Colin Ferris of Silverfort pointed out just how much has changed. "Prior to AI, the level of effort required to personalize something was too great. You couldn't personalize 50 phishing messages; it was too much work," he told CBS News. Now that barrier is gone, and scammers can target far more people at once. That means everyone — young, old, tech-savvy or not — is at greater risk. "It is truly everyone now," Higginbotham said.

So what can people do to protect themselves? Experts say that using two-factor authentication is now a must. Two-factor authentication means you need two steps to log in to an account — like a password and a code sent to your phone. This extra step makes it much harder for scammers to break in, even if they have your password. Security tools that once seemed like overkill are now considered essential.

There is also a simple, low-tech tip that anyone can use. An initiative called Take9 asks people to count to nine before clicking on a suspicious link, downloading a file, or sharing a message. That short pause gives your brain time to think before you act. It might seem small, but experts say slowing down can stop a lot of scams before they start. Taking a few seconds to think could save you from losing a lot of money.

Still, experts say personal steps are not enough on their own. Brian Cute, the president and CEO of the Global Cyber Alliance, said that personal precautions alone cannot stop all the threats coming through weak spots in the internet. Companies, governments, and other groups all need to work together to make the internet safer. "That collaboration is as essential to a safer Internet as any password or security patch," Cute said. No single person can fix this problem alone.