Navigating 
Digital Trust in the Age of AI

Consumer concern over AI-fueled fraud remains high, though notably lower than last year. In 2025, 61% of consumers say they’re extremely or very concerned about AI being used to defraud or scam them—down from 79% in 2024. This drop may reflect growing familiarity with the technology, but it also raises questions about whether consumers are desensitized to or unaware of its risks. At the same time, 52% express serious concern about the security of their personal information when using GenAI tools. These figures suggest that while general uneasiness around AI may be subsiding, apprehensions over personal data exposure remain a significant and persistent issue.

Despite privacy concerns, consumers are willingly sharing their personal data with GenAI tools—likely without fully understanding the risks. 31% of consumers admit to entering personal or sensitive information into a GenAI tool. Among the most common data shared are email addresses (55%), phone numbers (49%), home addresses (44%), and even financial information (33%). Alarmingly, 14% admitted to sharing company trade secrets, exposing both the individuals and businesses to security threats.

As AI-powered scams surge, many consumers remain alarmingly confident in their ability to spot them. One-third (33%) of consumers say they’re confident they could identify an AI-generated scam, yet 20% admit to falling for phishing attempts in the past year. This disconnect illustrates how convincing AI scams have become, especially with deepfakes, which increased by 4x in 2024. One in three consumers (33%) now believe someone has attempted to scam them using AI, such as a deepfake, up from 29% last year. 27% of those individuals were successfully defrauded, a sharp rise from 19% the year prior.

Half (51%) of consumers understand that many businesses collaborate through trusted fraud prevention networks to securely share data and stop cybercriminals from exploiting personal information across platforms. The same percentage (51%) say they would opt in to securely share their own data with such networks as long as it’s used exclusively for fraud prevention. These findings indicate growing consumer awareness and willingness to contribute to collective security efforts.

There are clear generational divides in how consumers engage with AI, perceive its risks, and attempt to protect themselves from AI-driven fraud. The more digitally fluent the generation, the more confident—but also more vulnerable—they appear to be. Gen Z and Millennials, who use AI tools most actively, report higher confidence in identifying scams, but also fall victim to fraud at the highest rates. In contrast, Gen X and Baby Boomers who are less engaged with AI express lower confidence, but are less prone to falling for scams due to more cautious online behavior.

Familiarity with AI may be creating a false sense of security. For younger, digitally-native generations, being more comfortable and trusting with new technology may be clouding their ability to recognize threats, exposing a critical gap between perceived and actual preparedness in the fight against AI-powered fraud.

*On behalf of Sift, Researchscape International polled 1,033 adults (aged 18+) across the United States via online survey in May 2025.