A new report says scammers use AI to build whole fake online stores, some posing as luxury shops, just as Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping begins.
Fake online stores are getting much harder to spot. A new holiday shopping scam report says scammers have moved from faking a single product to faking an entire store, and AI is the reason. Some of these sites now look like high-end luxury retailers. The report comes just ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Savi Security, the company behind a free scam checker called Scamwise, released its 2026 Holiday Shopping Scam Report. Its CEO, Patrick Coughlin, said older scam sites were often one-page shops selling blurry photos of items like Beanie Babies. Today, he said, the fakes look like luxury retailers selling clothing, evening wear and watches.
Coughlin said AI lets scammers build these sites quickly and get them online at scale. A store that looks polished is no longer a sign that it is real. Daniel Irwin of the BBB of the Mid-South said online shopping scams are the number one scam reported to the BBB Scam Tracker.
Anyone shopping online this season is a possible target, especially people looking for clothing, electronics, tools, luxury watches or evening wear. The biggest warning sign is a fancy shop you have never heard of. The report does not say how much money shoppers have lost, and it does not say every site using the Myshopify.com address is a fake.
The steps in the alert box above are simple. The one Irwin stressed most is paying with a credit card instead of a debit card. In his words, it is much easier to dispute a charge on a credit card. Checking an unfamiliar site with a free tool like Scamwise takes only a moment before you pay.
The same AI progress is making fake images and video harder to catch. University of Memphis professor Dipankar Dasgupta said verifying identity has become critical and argued that self-regulation by tech companies will not be enough. His student Nicholas Redmond said a fake you can spot today may not be spottable a month from now. His advice: start by assuming anything you see online is not real.
Pay with a credit card, and check any unfamiliar store with a free tool like Scamwise before you hand over your card number.
Fake PayPal emails and texts, some posing as a security report, try to get you to tap a link and type your login. Checking your account directly avoids the trap.
Read more: Got a fake PayPal message? Skip its link and check your account yourselfSecurity firm Flashpoint says criminals are trading in refund tricks, gift card fraud and hacked online stores ahead of the holidays. Shop owners should check their refund steps.
Read more: Scammers are targeting store refunds and gift cards before the holidaysThe Attala County Sheriff's Office in Mississippi says scam calls are reaching residents, and a call that sounds official may not be.
Read more: Mississippi sheriff warns residents about scam phone calls
