A new wave of Artificial Intelligence-powered cyber threats is emerging, becoming more convincing and dangerous than earlier scams. The World Economic Forum has ranked Artificial Intelligence-generated misinformation and disinformation as the number one global risk for the next two years. Scammers now create fake customer service numbers, websites, emails and chatbots that show up in search results and paid ads, sometimes even appearing alongside legitimate listings. Generative Artificial Intelligence tools can mimic tone, branding and real-time conversation, and deepfakes and voice cloning are being used to impersonate executives, customer service agents and family members in ways that are difficult to detect in real time.
Several specific trends illustrate how attacks have evolved. ClickFix scams, which trick users into pasting malicious code into terminals or browser consoles, surged by 517% between late 2024 and mid-2025 and now account for nearly 8% of all blocked cyber incidents, according to CyberPress.org. Microsoft’s threat intelligence team reports thousands of such daily attacks and notes even nation-state actors are adopting the tactic. Phishing remains pervasive, with an estimated 3.4 billion phishing emails sent daily, per KeepNet Labs. Attackers also deploy malicious QR codes, with over 1.7 million unique malicious codes detected in the past year by the Anti-Phishing Working Group. Pew Research data cited in the article shows 73% of U.S. adults have experienced an online scam, nearly one-third receive scam calls daily, and 28% get scam emails every day. The article reports 2024 online scams caused ?.6 billion in losses in the U.S. and highlights the emotional toll on victims, including embarrassment, anxiety and mistrust.
The business impact extends beyond direct financial loss to brand reputation, customer trust, regulatory exposure and employee morale. The article argues cybersecurity must be treated as a strategic imperative, recommending concrete steps for consumers and organisations: scrutinise search results and sponsored links, avoid executing commands from pop-ups, verify contact information independently, educate employees on phishing red flags, enable multi-factor authentication, keep systems patched and antivirus updated, and limit administrative access for non-technical users. Looking ahead to 2026, generative Artificial Intelligence will shape both attacks and defenses; attackers will automate and personalise scams while defenders will deploy Artificial Intelligence to detect anomalies, predict threats and respond in real time. The best defence is proactive: continuous learning, strong digital hygiene and investment in training, incident response planning and threat monitoring.
