As the new school year begins, families face an rising wave of AI-enhanced online scams targeting students and parents, prompting urgent safety advice from the Better Business Bureau.
The Better Business Bureau’s Greater Columbia and Charleston office is warning families to be cautious as the new school year drives a fresh wave of online scams, many of them sharpened by artificial intelligence. Chris Hadley, the bureau’s president and chief executive, said scammers are using AI to make fake emails, websites and even phone calls look more convincing, turning familiar tricks into harder-to-detect traps.
Among the most common schemes are phoney online stores advertising cut-price school supplies, fake Google Classroom or school login pages and bogus messages that claim a Chromebook has been infected and needs urgent technical support. The bureau says students are a particular target because they spend so much time online completing assignments, researching projects and messaging classmates.
The warning extends beyond younger pupils. The BBB says high school and university students are also being approached with fake scholarship offers, fraudulent apartment listings and job scams promising easy money in exchange for personal details or financial information. Other groups have reported similar seasonal schemes, including deceptive ads for laptops, tablets, clothing and shoes that lure shoppers to websites where orders never arrive.
Consumer advocates say the safest response is to slow down and check before paying or clicking. That means confirming suspicious emails and texts through a school’s official channels, buying only from retailers you trust, using credit cards where possible and treating unsolicited requests for passwords or personal details as a red flag. The BBB is also urging parents to talk with children about online safety and to report scams through BBB Scam Tracker so others can be warned.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
