AI powered scams: What they mean for you and your business

Estimated reading time
 3 min

Key points

• AI is changing how scams look, but the tactics are often familiar. Taking time to verify information, follow clear processes and question unusual requests can help individuals and businesses reduce risk.
• Technology will keep evolving, but simple online safety habits still matter. Staying calm and doing basic checks play an important role in staying safe online.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is moving fast. While its capabilities bring real benefits to everyday people and businesses, it’s also making scams more believable and harder to spot.

In the past, scam emails and phone calls often had obvious warning signs. Today, AI tools can make it easier for criminals to create realistic emails and messages, imitate real organisations, and sound far more convincing on phone or video calls. In some cases, AI can also be used to create deepfake audio or videos that sound or look like someone you trust.

This doesn’t mean systems are suddenly unsafe, but it does mean people and businesses may be targeted more often through everyday channels like email, SMS, calls and video - sometimes in ways that feel more personal, emotional or urgent than in the past. This can include messages or calls that appear to come from a familiar person, manager, supplier or organisation.

In Australia, scams continue to impact individuals and businesses through financial losses, compromised personal and business information, and disruption to normal operations.

If something feels rushed, it’s worth slowing down. Many scams and cyber incidents rely on pressure to bypass normal checks. Taking time to pause and verify the request, and who you’re dealing with, can help you feel more confident about your next step.

Staying cyber safe at home and at work

Across both personal and business settings, good cyber hygiene helps reduce exposure to scams and other online risks.

Strong technical controls play an important role, including keeping devices and systems up to date and using multi factor authentication (MFA) wherever available.

Staying safe also relies on everyday decision-making, supported by simple steps to Stop, Check and Protect.

 STOP.

Take a moment to pause if a request feels unusual, rushed or emotionally charged, even if it appears to come from someone you know.

 CHECK.

Verify requests independently using trusted contact details, not the contact information provided in the call, email, message or video.

 PROTECT.

Keep your personal and business information secure. Never share sensitive details with anyone, including people claiming to be from ANZ.

Together, strong technical controls and simple security habits can support safer decisions, even as AI enabled scams become more convincing.

Where to get support if you think you’ve been scammed

If you suspect fraud on your account or have shared financial information or transferred money as a result a scam, please contact your bank. If you bank with ANZ, please contact us straightaway. Our Customer Protection Team is available 24/7 to help you.

You can also report scams to the Australian Government’s Scamwatch and the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s ReportCyber.

For additional support with identity or cyber security concerns, you can reach out to IDCare, a not-for-profit organisation offering expert support and frontline insights into scams, identity theft and cybercrime.