New Zealanders fall into AI confidence trap, Avast says

Avast has published research suggesting many New Zealanders are confident they can identify AI fakes despite engaging in risky online behaviour. The findings point to a gap between public confidence and personal data habits.

The study found that 66% of New Zealand adults believe they would spot an AI fake immediately, while 40% have shared, or considered sharing, at least one sensitive item with an AI tool. Avast described the mismatch as an "AI confidence trap" in its 2026 Safe Tech Report, based on a survey of 1,000 adults in New Zealand.

Workplace information also featured in the results. The research found that 21% of adults have shared, or considered sharing, a CV with an AI chatbot, while 17% have done the same with a work document.

The report argues that the risk is not limited to a single interaction. Information entered into AI tools may remain in systems after a conversation ends, raising the prospect of later exposure through a breach, another user interaction, or use in training data.

Richard Watts, head of Avast, said the issue was not simply whether users could recognise synthetic content.

"Being confident you'd spot an AI fake and knowing when and how to protect your data are two different skills - but confidence in one can convince people they're safe with the other too, and that's the trap," Watts said.

"Chatbots aren't confidants. Check what a tool actually does with your data before you share anything, and remember it's still somewhere else your information could be exposed. If you wouldn't want it repeated to a stranger, don't hand it over to the bots," he said.

Red flags ignored

The report found that many consumers recognise common warning signs of fraud but still dismiss them in the moment. Among the signals respondents were most likely to ignore were an offer that looks too good to be true, cited by 42%; a request for personal details to "verify" identity, cited by 39%; and pressure to act quickly, cited by 38%.

Avast linked those findings to wider scam patterns identified by Gen Threat Labs, saying AI-generated fraud often depends less on technical sophistication than on familiar tactics designed to trigger urgency, trust, fear, or greed.

Gen said its latest threat data recorded tens of millions of video encounters involving AI worldwide in the first half of 2026, with about one in 30 flagged as a scam. That suggests even a small share of malicious content can translate into a large volume of convincing fake material reaching users.

Michal Salat, threat intelligence director at Gen Threat Labs, said the broader pattern in scams had remained stable even as the tools changed.

"What we see in the threat landscape reinforces what consumers are telling us here. Spotting that something was made with AI is only part of the challenge," Salat said.

"Through our Fearless Planet Index, we see how scams are evolving in the real world, and AI is increasingly making the first impression more convincing. But underneath, attackers are still pulling the same psychological levers - urgency, trust, fear, and the promise of something too good to pass up. The technology may be changing, but the human behaviours scammers exploit remain remarkably consistent," he said.

Handling threats alone

The survey also indicated that many New Zealanders deal with suspicious activity privately rather than reporting or discussing it. When confronted with an unusual message, call, or direct message, 43% said they would delete it and tell no one, while 20% said they would investigate it themselves.

That tendency extends to how people share what they learn about scams. The research found that 85% of Kiwi adults watch or listen to true-crime-style scam content, with 59% saying it makes them more alert in day-to-day life and 53% saying it makes them more suspicious of messages and offers. Yet only 39% said they had used that material to start a conversation with a friend, partner, or family member.

Older relatives remain a particular source of concern. Among respondents with older loved ones whose online habits they consider risky, 72% said they worry about them clicking suspicious links. In that group, 14% said an older loved one had fallen victim to phishing scams, while 54% said their own conversations or actions had helped an older loved one avoid a scam or online fraud.

The findings also suggest the consequences can be tangible. Avast said 51% of New Zealand scam victims reported a financial impact, while shopping scams were the most commonly reported threat affecting older loved ones, at 21%.

One result underscored how widely recognised the danger has become: 24% of New Zealand adults said one of the listed scam red flags could realistically catch them out.

The survey was conducted online by Dynata and weighted by age, gender, and region to reflect the national population.