Google Warns Against AI-Powered Online Scams: Here’s How To Stay Safe Online

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With the advent of AI, the rise of cybersecurity scams has taken a new turn. It’s not just us; Google itself claims that data revealed by the 2025 Global Anti-Scam Alliance “State Of Scams” report suggests 57 percent of adults have faced a scam in the past year. One of the key observations is that the scammers are actively misusing AI tools. Also Read: Ray-Ban Meta Glasses Just Got Easier To Buy In India: Coming To Amazon, Flipkart On November 21

Whether it is about online job scams, AI product impersonation scams or malicious VPN apps and extensions. However, the tech giant suggests that you keep an eye out for all the latest scams, prevention from and a correct response against these scams are important. Here is what Google says. Also Read: Google Maps Gets Gemini To Help You Navigate Easily Just Like A Friend! What's New?

How Scammers Are Using AI And How To Stay Safe

While there are many ways scammers use AI to make money out of scams. However, Google has listed a few prominent ones that you must be aware of:

1. Online Job Scams

Many scams now start with fake job postings. Google says that fraudsters create convincing replicas of career websites and social media job ads, even pretending to be recruiters from known companies. Once victims show interest, scammers demand a “registration” or “interview processing” fee and collect personal details such as Aadhaar, PAN, and banking info.

And, Google has a safety net for you in such situations! Gmail and Messages Scam Detection automatically flag suspicious emails and messages. However, it is important for you to enable two-step verification.

2. Fake Review and Extortion Scams

Businesses are also being targeted through fake negative reviews. After flooding a business page with one-star reviews, scammers contact the owner demanding money to remove them. Google Maps now lets merchants report such extortion attempts directly, and encourages owners to never engage or pay, but instead keep screenshots and report the fraud.

3. Fake AI Apps

Cybercriminals are misusing the buzz around AI. They create fake “AI apps” promising free access to tools like ChatGPT or Gemini. These fake apps can steal credentials or install malware. Google warns users to only download apps from official app stores and to check for suspicious URLs. Chrome’s Enhanced Safe Browsing gives real-time alerts against such malicious links.

4. Malicious VPN Apps

Apart from these, the VPN is something that many people tend to access. And in the mirage of “free VPNs” on shady websites, online scammers load them with spyware. They pretend to offer privacy but actually steal browsing data and banking credentials. Google advises you to enable Play Protect, which scans apps automatically, and recommends downloading VPNs only from verified sources with the VPN badge.