Scammers used AI-powered tools to create nearly 100,000 fake websites impersonating legitimate brands including Joann Fabrics, stealing customers' credit card information and personal data through realistic replicas that could be generated in minutes.
Following Joann Fabrics' bankruptcy filing in January, scammers quickly created impostor websites with URLs like 'joannlosangeles.com' and 'jo-annclosingonsale.shop' that looked nearly identical to the legitimate retailer's site. These fake sites used Joann's branding and product images to offer merchandise at deep discounts, with the aim of stealing shoppers' credit-card information and personal data. Customers who placed orders never received products but had their payment information compromised. Cybersecurity experts report that AI-powered tools enable criminals with limited technical skills to create nearly perfect replicas of legitimate sites in just minutes. The process involves buying AI-powered tools on criminal marketplaces, feeding in a legitimate site's URL, and having the AI instantly scrape and clone the page while adding fake forms to capture personal details. Netcraft has identified nearly 100,000 domains created with illicit AI tools, impersonating 194 different brands across 68 countries, accounting for 6% to 7% of all phishing activity online. These tools lower the barrier of entry for non-technical criminals and allow targeting of smaller businesses that lack sophisticated detection systems.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Using AI systems to gain a personal advantage over others such as through cheating, fraud, scams, blackmail or targeted manipulation of beliefs or behavior. Examples include AI-facilitated plagiarism for research or education, impersonating a trusted or fake individual for illegitimate financial benefit, or creating humiliating or sexual imagery.
AI system
Due to a decision or action made by an AI system
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed