AI driving online fraud as Irish scam victims lose an average €124

Online scam cost Irish consumers an average €124.50 with fraudulent advertising and AI-generated scams driving the issue. Picture: iStock

Online scam cost Irish consumers an average €124.50 with fraudulent advertising and AI-generated scams driving the issue.

An estimated €71.8m is lost to the economy through online scams annually, according to finance and payments firm Visa. A survey of 1,000 adults conducted by Opinium for Visa highlighted the scale of the problem.

Victims spend an average of 8.9 days resolving online scams and 50% of those targeted say they now avoid shopping with smaller or unfamiliar brands, the Visa research found.

Visa said the scale and sophistication of fraudulent advertising and AI-generated scams on social media are growing rapidly, making it harder than ever for people to know what’s real. “AI is transforming how we live, shop, work and connect, but it’s also reshaping the landscape for fraud. Scammers are using the same technology that brings us innovation to deceive and exploit consumers, blurring the line between real and fake," said Visa country manager for Ireland Conor Langford.

Almost a quarter of respondents (23%) to Visa's survey have reshared a post without checking its accuracy, the survey found. Almost half (42%) of respondents who had fallen victim to a scam changed how they shop online after being scammed and one in two people (50%) targeted by online shopping scams say they now avoid shopping with smaller or unfamiliar brands. 

Mr Langford called on consumers and businesses to always verify the senders of messages, use two-factor authentication, and to always use secure payments online. 

"The more informed people are, the safer our digital economy becomes. Together, we can build a more secure digital future for everyone," said Mr Langford.