Unfortunately, online scams have become so common these days. Scammers find their way into tricking innocent users. These not only put your private data/information at risk, but sometimes you also end up losing money, which can be devastating. It has come to a stage where scams look and sound more realistic than ever. While such scams are countless in number, McAfee, a prominent name in online protection, has released its “The State of the Scamiverse 2026” report, offering its findings regarding the proliferation of increasingly credible AI scams, the rise in scam messages and their impact on consumers throughout 2025.
McAfee’s 2025 report: Attackers integrated AI scams into everyday digital activities
AI (artificial intelligence) has become part of everyday internet culture. We’re seeing AI-generated content everywhere now. While most of it is harmless, some of it is obviously not. Scammers are reportedly borrowing AI tools and techniques to make their schemes look more convincing. Phishing scams have upped their game, where scammers can, in no time, craft a malicious website that looks exactly similar to a legitimate company.
As technology and AI tools continue to advance, scam content is becoming more realistic. This throws a challenge in identifying the real one. The latest findings from McAfee paint a picture of how consumers are being increasingly exposed to these kinds of situations. The main issue here is that cybercriminals are integrating scams into your everyday digital activities. The company presents some facts from its survey of 7,500 consumers.
Some even lost money to scams in 2025
Brits reportedly received an average of eight scam messages per day. This is across email, social media, and text messages. The report also notes that almost one in five (18%) people say suspicious social messages now have no links at all, no URL to question. Only a third (34%) of people reply to those linkless DMs, often triggering the scam’s next step. Additional insights reveal that 44% of Brits report that hackers compromised their social accounts in the past year.
Things don’t stop there. Nearly one in five (12%) of those from the UK have come across a suspicious QR code and landed on a dangerous page after scanning it. Among the people affected by the scam, a quarter (24%) said it played out in under an hour, and one in five (19%) said it unfolded in 30 minutes or less. Almost three in four (70%) of those from the UK say they’ve personally experienced an online scam.
Now to the most important part: one in three Brits (34%) say they’ve lost money to a scam. Brits who lost money to a scam reported losing an average of £880 (~$1,214).
The dangers of Deepfakes
The McAfee findings show that people see an average of 2 deepfakes every day, which are often mixed with real content. What’s worse is that almost a third of Brits (30%) surveyed note that they aren’t confident that they can identify a deepfake scam. A similar share of users say that they don’t feel confident protecting themselves if a deepfake targets them. Nearly half of Brits (46%) say half of the deepfakes they see are deceptive, and almost a third (29%) believe most or nearly all deepfakes they see are scams.
Even private messaging platforms apparently aren’t immune. These include the likes of WhatsApp, Snapchat, Telegram, Reddit, Discord, and LinkedIn. Deepfakes are no longer a niche phenomenon. Almost one in ten people from the UK (7%) surveyed by McAfee say that they have experienced a voice-clone scam. They also often generate a sense of urgency that pushes victims to do things quickly. It can be transferring money or sharing personal information, even before they have time to verify.
More than money, scams cost time. McAfee survey notes that Brits now lose 65 hours per year just to determine whether a message, alert, call, or notification is real. In the same survey, one in three Brits (34%) reported that they had lost money to a scam, and one in ten (10%) of those victims were targeted again within a year. Interestingly, younger adults report the highest recurrence rates. Furthermore, nearly two-thirds (59%) of Brits believe their personal information is more at risk today than a year ago, and one in three say they feel less confident spotting scams.
The road ahead
In its report, McAfee also details how scams will evolve in 2026. It notes that scams will mimic users’ daily digital routines. This could include cloud storage alerts or job apps using multi-step processes to gain trust. Millions of consumers use cloud storage services, like Google Drive, iCloud, or Dropbox, for important documents and private family photos. This makes it a target-rich environment for scammers to exploit.
Job scams are also rampant. They have seen a significant growth trajectory in recent years. These attacks saw a 133% rise in the UK in 2024 compared to 2022. By 2025, the trend escalated dramatically, with McAfee finding a 1000% increase globally between May and July. Because of the 237% rise in “advance fee” job scams, British victims say they lost an average of £1,420 (about $1,954) each to fake job offers.
In 2026, scammers may use AI tools to customize postings, onboarding steps, and even contracts to mirror a victim’s real background or industry. The takeaway for 2026 is simple: scams will become harder to recognize as they increasingly resemble the trusted digital workflows people use without thinking twice.
Considering how scams are growing and, more importantly, how realistic they’ve become, staying safe is essential and a priority. It comes down to three essentials: awareness, skepticism, and protection that can detect risks in real time.
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