You’re probably all too familiar with the words “potential spam” or “suspicious activity detected” or even a Gmail pop-up that reads, “This message may be dangerous.” That’s because we are all potential victims of phishing, spoofing and other online scams all the time. According to new report from the National Consumers League, phishing and spoofing scams have increased by more than 85%, and the average financial loss due to such scams has doubled, from $1,000 to $2,060.

Generative AI is becoming integral to an increasing number of attacks, which are becoming more frequent and sophisticated. The US Federal Trade Commission reported that Americans will lose more than $12 billion to consumer fraud attacks and scams by 2024, a 25% year-over-year increase. These losses are only expected to grow as scams become more convincing, enabled by AI tools that allow scammers to clone voices, create deepfakes, localize messages and personalize the language used in scam emails, texts and social media posts.

“Due to widespread evidence that scammers are increasingly using artificial intelligence tools to create better pitches, the increase in phishing complaints is particularly concerning,” John Breyault, the NCL Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud, said in a statement.

Notably, 48% of the 1,376 complaints analyzed in the NCL report involved online scam attempts, marking a distinct shift away from telephone scams as the main method used by attackers.

Young people are vulnerable

There are widespread assumptions that young people (Millennials and Gen Z) are less affected by web-based, AI-powered scams because of their digital literacy. While it’s true that older adults, age 56 and over, account for more than a third (37.94%) of complaints, younger adults are also being targeted at increased rates.

NCL found that millennials accounted for 39.8% of total fraud complaints, and complaints from adults ages 26 to 35 increased by 68.1% year over year.

How to protect yourself online in 2026

As web-based and AI-generated scam attempts increase and become more sophisticated, there are ways to protect yourself online. NCL says to be wary of anything that seems too good to be true, and suggests familiarizing yourself with popular scams, such as fake check scams, fake prize and sweepstakes scams, internet merchandise scams and investment scams.

The Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting American consumers, also recommended that you remain vigilant and question unexpected calls, texts or emails, as well as any messages that have a sense of urgency or threats. For example, be wary of messages that include language like “move on” or “your account will be locked.”

CFA also encourages you to independently verify communications or individuals by researching phone numbers, names, websites and businesses rather than relying on caller ID, links or contact information.

If you suspect you are the victim of an attempted scam, report it to the authorities, such as the Federal Trade Commission website.