National Trading Standards Launches AI Scam Watchlist as Survey Reveals Quarter of UK Adults Overwhelmed by Fraud Sophistication
National Trading Standards Launches AI Scam Watchlist as Survey Reveals Quarter of UK Adults Overwhelmed by Fraud Sophistication #
A new survey commissioned by the UK’s National Trading Standards (NTS) has found that a quarter of British adults feel overwhelmed by the growing sophistication of AI-powered scams. In response, the consumer protection body has launched a dedicated “AI Scam Watchlist” to help the public keep pace with rapidly evolving criminal tactics.
Nearly one in five UK adults (19%) said they now actively avoid certain online activities out of fear of being scammed, while nearly a third (31%) said they double-check emails, messages and websites more carefully than before. Around 27% said they worried about becoming a victim themselves, but concern for others was higher: 79% said they were particularly anxious about vulnerable friends or family members falling prey to fraud.
NTS framed AI’s role not as a catalyst for entirely new categories of crime, but as a force multiplier for existing ones. The organisation said AI is “supercharging” established fraud types, including shopping scams, holiday fraud, investment fraud and romance scams, making them more convincing, more personalised and easier to deploy at scale. The result, according to NTS, is that criminals can target far more people with less technical skill than before.
Among the AI-powered techniques that most alarm consumers are fake websites designed to mimic legitimate businesses, voice cloning (where a victim’s or trusted person’s voice is replicated to manufacture a convincing call), and deepfake video technology that can put familiar faces to fraudulent scripts.
The AI Scam Watchlist is intended as a running guide for consumers, cataloguing the latest scam formats and explaining how each works. NTS said the tool would be updated as criminal methods evolve.
The findings come as regulators and financial services firms across the UK consider how best to respond to the AI fraud threat. Banks and payment providers have increasingly flagged AI-generated social engineering as a top concern, and policymakers have begun examining whether existing consumer protection frameworks are adequate for an environment where scams can be generated and personalised at machine speed.
NTS urged consumers not to assume that a communication or website is legitimate simply because it appears polished or professionally produced, cautioning that AI has sharply lowered the bar for fraudsters to create credible fakes.
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