St Vincent de Paul Society warns of increasingly sophisticated scams

The St Vincent de Paul Society is urging Australians to stay alert as cybercriminals use artificial intelligence to impersonate trusted organizations and target people facing hardship.

National President Mark Gaetani said advances in AI allow criminals to create fake websites, emails, messages, and phone calls that closely imitate legitimate groups. These scams are becoming more frequent and complex because AI can replicate authentic branding and communications with high accuracy. Gaetani noted that these developments make it harder for people to tell the difference between a genuine service and a fraudulent one.

The warning follows the conclusion of national Scams Awareness Week, which took place from August 24 to August 28.