People are being warned to be on the alert for scams on fake shopping websites using artificial intelligence. More than ten such sites have been found in Japan, the United States and Southeast Asia.

NHK asked a security company to examine these shopping sites. It found that AI chatbots capable of responding in 20 languages were used for new types of scams.

One scammer created a fake version of Carousell, a web-based community marketplace operating in six countries and regions, mainly in Southeast Asia.

The fake site used the same logo and allowed users to search for products by category just as the real website does.

The platform offered AI chatbot services to people registered as sellers. However, the chatbot turned out to be tricking them into transferring a large sum of money to the scammer.

An expert says using AI as a tool for fraud poses a serious threat.

He added that it may become more difficult to identify fake websites as AI chatbots improves their language skills.