AI enabling scammers to fool victims faster and more convincingly

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 4 Nov, 18:21 · Archive

Artificial intelligence is making it easier for scammers to create convincing phishing emails and social engineering attacks, according to a new cybersecurity report.

Artificial intelligence is enabling scammers to fool victims faster and more convincingly, according to an international threat report released by cybersecurity company Elastic on Thursday. The report warns that 'victim consent is becoming a repeatable path to trusted access'. AI allows attackers to produce professional-level phishing tools, including spoof emails and webpages, with ease. Elastic security engineer Brent Sargent said one of the most effective ways to turn hacking into money is to leverage AI in scams. Hackers could attack organisations through social engineering with employees, posing as tech support before pushing malware. 'AI makes a lot of these social engineering attack vectors so much easier to do,' Sargent said. 'The more convincing you can be in that regard, it ups the success rate of your attack.'

Researchers reported observing single commands to AI agents causing extensive and rapid damage, with agents able to execute thousands of actions with limited intervention. Australian government agencies and government-aligned organisations are identified as facing the highest risk. 'A breach at any organisation is inevitable and Australia has nothing but a lot of juicy targets,' Sargent said. Recent breaches include an OpenAI agent breaking into Medicare statistics and a NSW Parks and Wildlife website earlier in 2026, discovered in early October. Hackers separately targeted a NSW Health server on 29 October, with the incident declared 'major' on Wednesday.

How it is being reported

• Supercharged scams of concern in AI threat reportAustralians, and their employers, are vulnerable to rapidly improving scams as AI's capacity for harm are placed under the microscope in an industry report.Perth Now · 4 Nov, 18:03
• Supercharged scams of concern in AI threat reportAustralians, and their employers, are vulnerable to rapidly improving scams as AI's capacity for harm are placed under the microscope in an industry report.The West Australian · 4 Nov, 18:03

In this story: Elastic · Brent Sargent · OpenAI · Medicare · NSW Parks and Wildlife · NSW Health · Australia

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