Most Small Business Owners Overestimate Their Ability To Spot AI Scams, Survey Shows
Bitdefender, Friday, January 16th, 2026
The Commonwealth Bank (CommBank) is urging small business owners to slow down and double-check unexpected requests after new research showed many are less prepared for deepfake scams than they believe.
According to a recent CommBank survey, many small business owners feel confident they could spot an AI-powered scam. In reality, their ability to correctly identify deepfakes was far lower. On average, participants correctly identified only42% of deepfake attempts.
The findings highlight a growing risk as artificial intelligence makes scams faster, more convincing, and harder to detect. 'Only around four in ten small business owners are familiar with deepfake scams, yet scammers are using AI to imitate suppliers, loved ones, and even government officials, highlighting the critical role awareness plays in spotting these scams,' said David Coote, CommBank's Queensland general manager of small business banking.