Many of us have been there. You spot the perfect item online, drop it in your cart, and pay. The days turn into weeks, as you patiently wait for the courier updates, and eventual arrival. Aaaah, the unboxing...
The disappointment hits you like a ton of bricks. What in the miniature fake fluff is this? Certainly not what you ordered. You vow to never shop online again. But of course, you're back at it next week. Hoping that this time, your expectation matches reality.
Luckily for you, there's a woman making it her business to uncover online shopping scams. Maggie McGaugh purposely buys fake products. Mutton dressed as lamb items, where sellers have used artificial intelligence to generate gorgeous ads that entice people into buying what they really don't need. The influencer has posted some of her dud buys online. And boy, are they hilarious. Bored Panda has put together some of the best, in the hopes that you won't be the next sucker that falls for another AI online shopping scam.
"My goal is to spread awareness about AI generated product photos, get the sellers removed from the sites, and repurpose the items to reduce waste"
Image credits: Maggie McGaugh
"I ordered an AI-generated shark toilet paper roll. Instead they sent a gemstone-by-the-numbers kit. Because who wouldn’t want a DIY gemstone canvas of a shark toilet paper roll"
Image credits: Maggie McGaugh
"You may have seen this AI generated photo of a coffee mug shaped like a stack of books. I took one for the team to investigate it myself, and here’s what you would actually get if you order it."
Image credits: Maggie McGaugh
"You know the beautiful stained glass dog lamps? Yeah, don’t fall for it"
Image credits: Maggie McGaugh
"No way to hide the plug, the cotton can’t stick out far off the wall, and they only included enough tape for half the lights. Maybe if I had 2-4 more packs I could make it look closer to the picture! Not to mention I had to build this thing myself "
Image credits: Maggie McGaugh
"Pretty sure I HAVE to turn this into a planter now, right?"
Image credits: Maggie McGaugh
"The giant banana duck!"
Image credits: Maggie McGaugh
"They didn’t even TRY to make it look similar"
Image credits: Maggie McGaugh
"3-D dinosaur"
Image credits: Maggie McGaugh
"I ordered this “watermelon grass” (not a real thing) and here’s what they really sent me"
Image credits: Maggie McGaugh
"This one was similar, but the size was definitely inaccurate"
Image credits: Maggie McGaugh
"Size does matter, folks"
Image credits: Maggie McGaugh
"I paid $50 for this gummy bear chair,"
Image credits: Maggie McGaugh
How to tell you're about to be scammed by AI, according to the experts...
Image credits: yesorno / freepik (not the actual photo)
If you’ve ever been caught out by an AI-generated online scam, you’re not alone. The rise of artificial intelligence has made it quite tough to tell the difference between real and fake. But luckily, you landed up on this page, and we can tell you that there are some reg flags that scream “you are about to be conned!”
Investigative journalism group Bellingcat has done a whole deep dive into AI-generated images being used to sell fake products. They say if you look close enough, you can avoid falling victim to AI con artists.
According to Bellingcat, many AI-generated images have some sort of “sheen” or look to them that can set off alarm bells. And often, tiny details are a dead giveaway that you’re about to have buyer’s remorse.
For example, you spot the perfect coffee mug. But upon closer inspection, some of the lines of the intricate design do not align. Or there’s a defect in the advert image like a smudge or a blur. The blurriness of the smudge is a feature often seen in AI-generated images, warns Bellingcat.
They also say it’s useful to think about how this product would work in practice. Does it look lit up but the ad says nothing about needing battering or a power source?
Another tip is to check various angles of the product. “AI image generators can create convincing images, but they are not great at producing the same image consistently,” notes the site.
“Authentic listings will often show the same item from multiple angles so customers can see what the object looks like before purchasing," they add. "If you only see one photo of the item, that is a red flag that the listing may be using an AI-generated image.”
Bellingcat says that sellers will often take one amazing photo and place the object in multiple “scenes” but you may notice that they don’t show any other angle of the item. “Where there are multiple photos of the product, it is also worth considering whether it looks like the same product in all of the pictures,” they advise.
The investigative journalists say that to protect themselves from being accused of misrepresentation or having their listings taken down by platforms, some sellers may hide disclosures within text or images. They will rather rely on the assumption that buyers may not closely read the details of their listings.
"If called out, they may then claim that the images were only for illustration," reads the site.
"To avoid falling prey to such tactics, look out for specific product details including the materials and dimensions, and whether the seller discloses that they are using AI-generated photos," they suggest. "Sellers may include these details within the descriptions to indicate that the item will be different to what is depicted in the listing’s image."
Many of us will read the text reviews before buying a product. But in this day and age, you need to look for photos too. Have previous buyers posted pics of the item? Are the pictures genuine? Does the background look like someone's home? Is it really the same product?
Lastly, if it seems too good to be true, then it very possibly is!
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