4 in 5 small businesses had cyberscams last year, almost half were AI powered

On 18 January 2026, DataBreaches[.]Net reports that 4 in 5 small businesses experienced cyberscams last year, with almost half of those incidents described as AI powered, according to a Wire Services report. The survey, conducted by Identity Theft Resource Center, found that 38% of small businesses hit by a cyberscam or breach in the previous 12 months passed those losses on to customers by raising prices.

The article also notes that cybercrime against small businesses is increasingly fuelled by artificial intelligence. In terms of breach patterns, two or three breaches in a 12-month period were the most common, with 34% of businesses reporting one breach and almost 12% reporting four or more. Read more at The Dallas Morning News.