• A scam recently convinced Taylor Swift fans to give up sensitive information for cookware that never arrived.
• Instead, fans were hit with hidden monthly charges in a scam that used an AI generated likeness of Swift.
• As AI becomes better scams such as these will become more convincing and more folks may fall prey to scammers with more nefarious goals.

Sometimes the journalism gods come together and align the stars so that you can write AI, Taylor Swift and Le Creuset into the same headline Unfortunately, it’s not a good news story and there is reason to heed its subject matter.

Earlier this month the New York Times reported that AI had been used to create a deepfake of Taylor Swift’s likeness and voice. This deepfake directed fans on Facebook to head to a website to claim free cookware from Le Creuset. This was of course a scam that wasn’t endorsed by either Swift or Le Creuset. The cookware manufacturer confirmed to The New York Times that it has no brand partnership with Swift at the time and buyers should shop for wares on official channels.

For fans who found the temptation of a new, free Dutch Oven too appealing and clicked the link, they found a scam.

Those who fell prey to the scam were asked to pay a shipping fee of $9.96 but never received their cookware and were instead signed up for monthly scam charges.

Swift is not the first celebrity to have their likeness leveraged by scammers. Late last year Tom Hanks had to warn fans not to fall for a scam that used AI to recreate his likeness to sell a dental plan.

At around the same time, Jimmy, “MrBeast” Donaldson also had to address a scam where AI was used to create his likeness.

As AI improves, these scams are only going to become more convincing and it would do us all well to exercise increased caution online. Should you run across an advert that looks convincing and is offering up something incredible, stop and go directly to the source to verify the information. You can do this by heading to an official website or an official social media platform.

Remember that scammers will use language that inspires you to take action – like telling you of a time-limited special discount – so be sure to think before you key your credit card details into a website you’ve never heard of. Losing money can be problematic but scammers could be looking for more.