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You can outsource your holiday shopping. Getting your money back from a fake store could take considerably more work.
With Halloween and Black Friday approaching, and the holiday season just a hop, skip, and a jump after that, a new report warns that fraudulent retailers are preparing for the season, too. Reports of fake holiday-themed stores submitted to the service have increased fivefold in the past 60 days.[1]
As AI assistants help people find gifts and make purchases, those stores have another potential customer to fool: your shopping agent.
The risk goes beyond a disappointing delivery. As we’ve covered in our reporting on AI shopping agents and fraud protections, an assistant with access to your payment information could hand sensitive details to the wrong seller.
Scamwise’s 2026 Holiday Shopping Scam Report analyzed more than 250,000 shopping sites submitted between March and October. Its system classified more than 100,000 as definitely or likely scams.
The company says its service receives reports of a previously unseen fake store roughly every three minutes. That measures submissions, not how often scammers launch websites across the internet.
These storefronts can have extensive catalogs, size charts, and return policies. Scamwise says 74% used AI-generated content, and at least one in five had advertising traces connecting them to major platforms, like Google and Meta.
They also follow the retail calendar, promoting Halloween decorations before moving into holiday gifts.
“Scammers used to fake a product. Now they fake the whole store,” Savi Security CEO Patrick Coughlin said in the company’s Oct. 20 announcement.
The findings come from people checking suspicious sites, so they don’t represent a random sample of online retailers. Savi Security, which makes Scamwise, also released the research alongside a browser-extension launch.
Asking an assistant for gift ideas is one thing. Allowing it to enter your address and card information at checkout requires more trust.
Tools such as Amazon’s Buy for Me show how shopping can move from recommendations to purchases on other retailers’ websites.
Amazon says in its description that customers confirm their order details before its AI completes the transaction. The outside retailer handles delivery, returns, and customer service.
That doesn’t mean Amazon’s feature is directing shoppers to fraudulent stores. But you still need to know who will fulfill the order and who you’ll be contacting if it never arrives.
Security researchers have already demonstrated how an AI browser can overlook a fake seller.
In an August 2025 experiment, Guardio researchers directed Perplexity’s Comet browser to a fake Walmart storefront and asked it to buy an Apple Watch. In some runs, it entered saved address and card details and completed the test purchase without requesting confirmation.
The results varied: Sometimes the browser refused or required a person to finish checkout. It was a controlled experiment involving an earlier version of one product, rather than evidence that every current AI shopper behaves that way.
Still, finding the requested product and completing checkout didn’t mean the browser had established the seller's legitimacy.
Letting an assistant compare headphones or brainstorm gifts can save time. Giving it permission to pay deserves a separate decision.
Before buying from a store it recommends:
If you’ve already paid a suspicious store, contact your card issuer promptly. Keep records rather than relying on the website to stay available.
Another helpful tool before holiday shopping picks up is reliable antivirus software, especially one with scam and phishing protection. It can flag suspicious stores before you enter your payment details, including ones your AI assistant recommends.
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