More than six in ten citizens consider online scams more dangerous than viruses
A CNET Group survey explores how generative AI is shifting the threat landscape, revealing that 62% of respondents consider AI scams a greater danger than traditional malware. The study highlights high weekly exposure r
A CNET Group survey explores how generative AI is shifting the threat landscape, revealing that 62% of respondents consider AI scams a greater danger than traditional malware.
The study highlights high weekly exposure rates to scam calls, emails, and texts, underscoring the growing challenge of automated impersonation.
What does the research data show?
The survey was conducted by the CNET Group on a sample of one thousand adults in the United States from September 9 to 12, 2026. According to the results, 62% of participants agree that modern scams pose a greater threat than traditional viruses.
The main reason is daily experience. Over 80% of respondents say they receive suspicious emails or calls at least once a week, while more than 76% encounter similar misleading messages on their mobile phones with the same frequency.
When asked about their biggest digital concerns, citizens ranked fraud-related risks at the top, while traditional e-commerce barely made it into the top five.
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How new technologies help fraudsters
Experts from cybersecurity firms note that artificial intelligence is helping fraudsters create more convincing threats and impersonate trustworthy individuals on a large scale. Research shows that malicious links on websites outpace all other ways of spreading fraud, leaving emails and text messages behind.
The problem can have serious real-life consequences. A 77-year-old retired nurse lost $400.000 of her life savings after falling into a multi-week facial mimicry trap, the study found. At the same time, the data shows huge economic losses worldwide, with the amounts reaching $442 billion worldwide and about $21 billion in the United States by 2025.
Verification tools
To protect users, companies in the field offer free solutions. Some offer digital assistants or special link checking tools so that citizens can confirm whether a suspicious link is safe before visiting it.
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Set it as a preferred source for cybersecurity updates.
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Originally published by Dev.to AI. Aggregated on AIWithGhost for educational purposes — full credit and traffic to the original publisher.