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October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and a good moment to look at how the scams we all face are changing. Generative AI has made it easier for criminals to write convincing messages, build professional-looking websites and run scams on a much larger scale, just as the busiest online shopping season of the year gets under way.
In 2025, UK Finance recorded 175,809 purchase scam cases in the UK, with £118.1 million lost, a 20% rise in losses on the year before. With these numbers showing how much is at stake, we asked Simon Cowan, Director of Engineering, how AI is changing the scam business, what to look out for, and how our cybersecurity teams are adapting.
Simon, scams have been around for as long as we’ve been online. What’s changed most in recent years?
Fraudsters and foreign actors have always known that the best way to catch someone out is to play on their emotions and in todays world that also includes their values. What’s changed is how sophisticated they’ve become at doing it, especially now that AI is in the mix. They’ll often use whatever is in the news to create a sense of worry or urgency, because they know people are more likely to act quickly when they’re anxious, and unfortunately that’s often when details are stolen.
UK Finance’s latest fraud report notes that criminals are using AI to scale up their attacks and make impersonation scams more convincing. What does that look like in practice?
Generative AI tools offer huge opportunities, but they’re also being used by scammers to fuel financial scams online at an even faster rate. They can write well-worded messages in seconds, create fake websites and adverts that look professional, and send far more of them than before. The result is that the scams people come across are more polished and there are more of them.
If spelling mistakes and clumsy wording aren’t the giveaway they used to be, what should people look out for instead?
Often, the best warning sign is how a message makes you feel. If it’s pressuring you to act quickly, offering a deal that seems too good to be true, or asking for personal or financial details, stop and check before you do anything. Financial institutions will never ring you out of the blue asking for your bank details. If you get a call from a bank, insurer or shop and you’re in doubt, hang up and contact them directly. Be wary of emails that appear to come from shopping or financial sites. Delete anything that looks suspicious, and never click links in emails in your junk folder. It’s called junk for a reason.
Shoppers lost more than £11.5 million to online shopping fraud over the 2023 festive period, according to Action Fraud and the National Cyber Security Centre. Why is this time of year such a busy one for scammers?
In the run-up to Black Friday and Christmas, many of us make more online purchases, and scammers know that. Busy inboxes, delivery updates and limited-time deals all create the kind of pressure they rely on. In the weeks ahead, I would urge people to be extra cautious.
What are the most important habits people can build to protect themselves, especially when shopping online?
There are some simple steps that make a real difference. Only shop on reputable sites that clearly explain how they handle your data and privacy. If possible, use a credit card rather than a debit card, as there are protections that allow you to reclaim money taken from your account. Only complete the mandatory fields at checkout, which are usually marked with an asterisk. Use strong passwords for your important shopping and financial accounts, and use registered banking apps and sites that ask you to confirm it's really you, such as with two-step verification. Watch for suspicious emails from shopping and financial sites, and if in doubt, don't click.
How can people help family and friends who might be more vulnerable?
It’s more important than ever to talk to family and friends, especially those who may be more vulnerable, particularly when it comes to phone calls and letters. Be mindful of what you share on social media, including personal details such as your birthday, address and phone number. Never accept friend requests from people you don’t know, and avoid quizzes and games that ask for information that could be the answer to a security question, such as the name of your first car. If something doesn’t feel right, trust your gut and don’t proceed.
How is AI changing the work of cybersecurity teams like ours?
Our cybersecurity teams protect Liberty’s people, systems and data as threats continue to evolve. Their day-to-day work includes monitoring activity, investigating anomalies, tracking emerging risks and investing in the tools and intelligence needed to stay ahead. Success depends on curiosity, attention to detail, continuous learning and close collaboration. Recent incidents illustrate the pace of change. The Marks & Spencer attack followed a more traditional pattern, while the Hugging Face incident showed how multiple AI agents could coordinate an attack using basic reasoning. Such attacks can spread quickly and be difficult to detect. To respond, cybersecurity teams must increasingly think like threat actors and use AI agents defensively to identify and counter emerging threats. Even as technology advances, qualified cybersecurity professionals remain essential to this expanding defensive and investigative role.
AI has given scammers new ways to make their messages more convincing and to reach more people, faster. Simon’s advice is a useful reminder that the most effective protection still comes from everyday habits: pausing before acting on a message, checking who you’re dealing with, paying in a way that protects you, keeping accounts secure, and talking to the people around you about what to look out for.
For our cybersecurity teams, keeping pace with those changes is part of everyday work, and Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a good moment to bring some of that know-how home.
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