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

Posted on January 18, 2026 by Dissent

Wire Services report:

One more reason things cost more today: cybercrime.

A survey by the Identity Theft Resource Center, a San Diego-based education and victim resource nonprofit, found that 38% of small businesses hit by a cyberscam or breach in the previous 12 months passed those losses to customers by raising prices.

Another key finding: Cybercrime against small businesses is increasingly fueled by artificial intelligence.

[…]

“When we think about risk, it really is all businesses,” Velasquez said. From mom and pops to large companies, “They’re all attractive to hackers.” Small businesses sometimes don’t pay enough attention to cybersecurity “because they think they’re not vulnerable. They think, ‘Well, why would anybody target me?’”

Not only are they being targeted, but they are being successfully breached, some multiple times a year. Two or three breaches in a 12-month period was the most common pattern. Another 34% had one breach and almost 12% had four or more.

Read more at The Dallas Morning News.


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