EXPRESS: The AI-Driven Scam Economy: Persuasion Knowledge, Consumer Vulnerability, and Empowerment

Abstract

Online scams are increasing rapidly and have become a pervasive feature of digital marketplaces, causing substantial harm to consumers. We conceptualize online scams as AI-driven malicious persuasion attempts and illustrate how AI makes their creation and execution easier (i.e., simplicity ) while increasing their sophistication and scale . Taking an integrated persuasion knowledge and dynamic consumer vulnerability perspective, we further explain how consumer vulnerability can both increase susceptibility to malicious persuasion attempts and emerge or intensify as a consequence of victimization. To counter the resulting challenges, we argue that consumer empowerment is needed to complement regulation and self-regulation. Specifically, we focus on consumers’ ability to recognize and resist AI-driven malicious persuasion attempts, report victimization, and develop resilience through recovery and adaptation over time. We identify corresponding interventions and derive avenues for future research and public policy implications.