# Canada's Cyber Centre warns AI is making holiday shopping scams harder to spot

> New guidance flags fake storefronts, lookalike URLs and AI shopping assistants that can't tell a real seller from a fake one.

- Published: 2026-10-15T19:00:00.000Z
- By: The Circuit Staff
- Type: News
- Topics: Security
- URL: https://thecircuit.ca/posts/2026-10-15-cyber-centre-ai-shopping-scams/

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security has published its holiday online-shopping guidance, and this year's theme is AI. Scammers are using "increasingly convincing techniques to steal personal and financial information," the guidance says, [MobileSyrup reports](https://mobilesyrup.com/2026/10/15/canadian-centre-for-cyber-security-warns-of-ai-scams-ahead-of-holiday-shopping-season/).

**What to watch for**

- Fake storefronts, checkout pages and payment sites, now easy to generate along with fake ads and reviews.
- Lookalike web addresses, like a zero instead of an "o". They're especially hard to spot on phones.
- Requests to pay outside normal checkout: e-transfer, gift cards or crypto.
- Links and QR codes in texts and emails.

**On AI shopping assistants,** the guidance is blunt: "AI tools cannot reliably determine whether a seller, website or offer is trustworthy." Treat their recommendations as "guidance, not assurances of legitimacy."

**If you get scammed:** call your bank or card issuer, reset any affected passwords, tell people close to you, and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, even if you didn't lose money.

**Why it matters:** The old tell-tale signs, like broken English and sloppy design, are disappearing. The habits that still work are boring ones: buy from sellers you can verify, type addresses yourself instead of tapping links, use a credit card for its chargeback protection, and turn on multi-factor authentication.