Criminals using AI to trick shoppers as data shows more than £11.5m lost to fraud during festive period last year

Black Friday is fast becoming Black Fraud Day with the discount period now “prime time” for scammers, according to Britain’s cybersecurity chief, who said criminals were using artificial intelligence to trick shoppers.

With online criminals taking advantage of an eagerness to save money amid the cost of living crisis, last Christmas people in the UK were scammed out of more than £11.5m, figures show, almost £1m more than in the same period in 2022. Fake clothing or high-end tech listings on social media were among the common ploys used to dupe people.