As Black Friday bargains start to flood inboxes, experts are warning Aussie shoppers and retailers to keep their wits about them because scammers are circling like seagulls at a summer barbie.

Aussies are losing big to online fraud, and artificial intelligence is helping cybercrooks step up their game. According to Fintech News, the average Australian lost nearly $1,700 to scams in 2025, almost double last year’s figure. Baby boomers were the hardest hit, suffering a whopping 332 per cent spike in losses.

It’s not just consumers feeling the sting. Adyen’s 2025 Retail Report found more than a quarter of Australian retailers reported fraud-related losses of over $1.3 million in the past 12 months. And nearly one in three expect scam attempts to ramp up during the peak shopping season.

“As shoppers race for bargains and businesses try to keep up with increased demand, scams are becoming faster, harder to spot, and easier to believe,” said Hayley Fisher, Country Manager for Australia and New Zealand at Adyen. “That’s why it’s critical for businesses to act now and invest in advanced fraud prevention tools to protect both revenue and, more importantly, customer trust.”

The rise of AI-powered scams

What’s new this year is just how convincing these scams have become. A report from Security Brief Australia found 82 per cent of Aussies believe online scams and phishing attacks have become more sophisticated due to AI. Nearly three-quarters say these scams are now more successful at tricking victims.

According to Yubico’s Geoff Schomburgk, “It’s that time of year when we see an increase in phishing attacks due to the volume of Christmas shopping, and scammers thrive when shoppers are time-poor. With AI accelerating and personalising sophisticated phishing campaigns, relying on passwords as your only defence is a major risk.”

AI can now generate fake online shops, deepfake videos featuring “celebrity endorsements”, and ultra-realistic emails that look like they’ve come straight from your favourite brands. PC World reports entire websites are being whipped up in minutes, complete with fake reviews, logos, and limited-time offers.

Scammers use clever psychological tricks to rush shoppers into buying. ‘Only three left!’ and ‘Offer ends in 10 minutes!’ aren’t just sales tactics any more, they’re bait.

And as The Guardian reports, this Black Friday has already been dubbed “Black Fraud Day” by one expert, thanks to the surge in fake online stores and phishing links.

What these scams look like

The fake offers often arrive via email, text or social media, with websites designed to mirror legitimate ones, sometimes with just a tiny typo in the URL. As Darktrace’s Nathaniel Jones told The Guardian, scammers will “turn John Lewis into J0hn Lewis (with a zero)” to trick rushed consumers.

You might think you’re grabbing a bargain on a new jumper or gadget, only to realise too late the website was fake and the goods will never arrive.

Some scammers are even building entire fake small-business identities, complete with “owners”, photos and glowing testimonials. As Adrian Ludwig from Tools for Humanity told The Guardian, “With AI, fraudsters can now create entire deceptive small-business identities, complete with faces, stories and photo-perfect shops in just minutes.”

The impact on small businesses

For legitimate small businesses, AI-driven fraud is a nuisance and a reputation risk. Consumers duped by fake shops may associate the scam with real brands or lose confidence in online shopping altogether.

It’s also eating into profits. According to Adyen, 31 per cent of Australian retailers reported an increase in attempted fraud during peak season. Many are turning to AI-powered fraud detection systems to fight fire with fire, using machine learning to identify dodgy transactions in real time.

“In the past, fraud prevention often came at the expense of customer experience,” said Fisher. “Today, AI-driven tools allow retailers to combat increasingly sophisticated scams in real time, enabling transactions that are both seamless and secure.”

How to stay scam-safe

Cybersecurity experts say a few simple habits can save both shoppers and retailers a world of pain:

Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible. Yubico recommends adding an extra layer of protection beyond passwords.

“Recovering social media, email, financial and other accounts if your account gets hacked is a lot more effort than proactively protecting your accounts,” said Schomburgk.

He offers the following tips to stay scam safe:

1. Check the URL: look for typos, strange endings, or dodgy spelling.
2. Be suspicious of urgency. If a deal screams “limited time only”, it might be bait.
3. Avoid paying by bank transfer or crypto. Stick to credit cards or payment platforms with built-in fraud protection.
4. Don’t click links in emails or texts. Go directly to the retailer’s official website instead.

Small business owners should also update staff training on scam spotting, and consider implementing AI-powered fraud tools.

“Harnessing AI to outsmart AI-driven fraud is now essential,” Fisher said.

Black Friday and Christmas are prime times for both shopping and scamming. With AI levelling up the con game, the best defence is awareness and tech-savvy habits. Or, as your Nan might say, if it looks too good to be true… it probably is.

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