AI-powered scams are no longer just a nuisance. They are quietly becoming a cost problem that everyday shoppers end up paying for.
A new survey by the Identity Theft Resource Center highlights how small businesses are being hit by increasingly sophisticated cyber scams. Many of them powered by artificial intelligence, and the losses incurred by the businesses are now trickling down to customers in the form of higher prices.
4 out of 5 small businesses reported they were hit by a cyberscam or breach in the past year, showing how widespread the problem has become. Of those breached, 41% said AI was the root cause of a recent attack.
The issue is not just the volume of scams, but how believable they have become. AI tools are helping criminals craft emails, invoices, and messages that look and sound legitimate, often mimicking real suppliers or trusted partners.
According to the TechXplore report, these scams are “more convincing than ever,” making it harder for small businesses to spot fraud before money is lost.
How AI scams are hurting small businesses and customers
Small businesses are particularly vulnerable because they often lack dedicated cybersecurity teams. When a scam succeeds, the financial hit can be severe. One expert quoted in the report said businesses are facing losses that are “no longer rare or minor,” forcing owners to make tough choices to stay afloat.
Those choices often affect customers. To recover stolen funds, businesses may raise prices, cut back on services, or add extra fees. As the report notes, the cost of cybercrime is increasingly “being passed on to buyers who have no idea it is happening.” Customers may never know that a slightly higher bill or delayed service is tied to a scam that happened weeks earlier.
Scammers have already abused AI hype to trick thousands into downloading fake ChatGPT apps and paying for what was essentially a bogus subscription. Later, OpenAI had to step in and crack down on scammers using its tools for fraud and other deceptive activity.
The report also points out that AI has lowered the barrier for scammers. Off-the-shelf cyberscam kits are now available for the price of Netflix, allowing even inexperienced criminals to run large-scale fraud campaigns and target more businesses at once.
For consumers, the impact is indirect but real. Even if you never fall for a scam yourself, you may still feel its effects at checkout. As AI-driven fraud continues to rise, the hidden cost of cybercrime is becoming part of everyday spending, whether people realize it or not.