For decades, spotting a fraudulent website required little more than a discerning eye. Misspelled words, pixelated logos, and clunky layouts were the telltale signs that a site was not what it claimed to be. Those days are over. A new generation of AI-powered website builders has handed cybercriminals a sophisticated toolkit that can replicate the digital storefronts of major brands with startling precision — and at virtually no cost.

The threat has grown so acute that cybersecurity firms themselves are now among the victims. Malwarebytes reported in February 2026 that criminals are actively using AI website builders to clone the sites of well-known and trusted brands, including Malwarebytes itself. The irony is not lost on the security community: the very companies tasked with protecting consumers from online fraud are being weaponized as lures to ensnare them.

A Frictionless Path From Concept to Con

The mechanics of the scheme are disarmingly simple. Modern AI website builders — legitimate tools designed to democratize web development for small businesses and entrepreneurs — can generate professional-grade websites in minutes. A user need only provide a prompt describing the kind of site they want, and the AI handles everything from layout and color scheme to copy and image placement. For legitimate users, this is a productivity revolution. For criminals, it is an unprecedented force multiplier.

According to Malwarebytes, scammers are leveraging these platforms to create near-perfect replicas of brand websites, complete with logos, product descriptions, customer testimonials, and even functional navigation menus. The cloned sites are then used in phishing campaigns, tech support scams, and fraudulent e-commerce operations designed to harvest personal data, financial credentials, or direct payments from unsuspecting victims. What once required a team of developers and graphic designers working for days can now be accomplished by a single bad actor in under an hour.

The Erosion of Visual Trust Signals

For years, cybersecurity professionals counseled consumers to look for visual cues when evaluating website legitimacy: check for HTTPS, look for professional design, verify the domain name. The AI cloning phenomenon has systematically dismantled each of these defenses. AI-generated sites are visually indistinguishable from their authentic counterparts to the average user. SSL certificates — the padlock icon in the browser bar — are freely available and routinely deployed on fraudulent sites. And domain names, while still a potential giveaway, are increasingly sophisticated, using subtle misspellings or alternative top-level domains that can fool even attentive users.

The Malwarebytes research highlighted that criminals are not merely copying the aesthetic of brand websites — they are replicating the entire user experience. Fake customer service chat widgets, simulated account login portals, and counterfeit download pages all contribute to an illusion of authenticity that is extraordinarily difficult to penetrate without technical expertise. The result is a crisis of trust that strikes at the foundation of online commerce and digital communication.

Brand Impersonation at Industrial Scale

The problem extends far beyond any single company or sector. Financial institutions, technology companies, healthcare providers, government agencies, and major retailers have all been targeted by AI-assisted cloning operations. The Federal Trade Commission has noted a sharp increase in reports of brand impersonation scams in recent years, with losses running into the billions of dollars annually. While the FTC has not attributed the increase specifically to AI website builders, cybersecurity researchers have drawn a direct line between the availability of these tools and the surge in convincing impersonation attempts.

Malwarebytes pointed out that the barrier to entry for this type of fraud has essentially collapsed. Previously, creating a convincing clone site required at least a rudimentary understanding of HTML, CSS, and web hosting. Today, many AI website builders offer free tiers that require no technical knowledge whatsoever. Some platforms even allow users to input a URL and automatically generate a site that mirrors the design and content of the original — a feature that, while intended for legitimate purposes such as competitive analysis or redesign projects, is trivially repurposed for fraud.

The Platform Responsibility Question

This raises uncomfortable questions for the companies that build and operate AI website creation tools. To what extent are platform providers responsible for the misuse of their products? The debate mirrors similar discussions around generative AI more broadly — from deepfake generators to large language models that can produce phishing emails at scale. Most AI website builders include terms of service that prohibit illegal activity, but enforcement remains inconsistent and largely reactive. A fraudulent site may operate for days or weeks before it is reported and taken down, by which time the damage has already been done.

Some platforms have begun implementing safeguards, such as automated checks that flag sites bearing too close a resemblance to known brand properties, or requiring identity verification for users who publish sites. But these measures are in their infancy, and determined criminals have proven adept at circumventing them — using VPNs, stolen identities, and disposable accounts to stay one step ahead of moderation teams. The cat-and-mouse dynamic is familiar to anyone who has followed the evolution of online fraud, but the speed and sophistication enabled by AI have tilted the playing field decisively in favor of the attackers.

Downstream Consequences for Consumers and Enterprises

The downstream consequences are severe and multifaceted. For consumers, encountering a cloned brand site can result in stolen credentials, malware infections, financial loss, and identity theft. For the brands being impersonated, the damage is reputational as well as financial. Customers who are defrauded through a fake version of a company’s website may lose trust in the genuine brand, even though the company itself was also a victim. The cost of monitoring for and responding to brand impersonation is substantial, diverting resources from product development and customer service.

Malwarebytes noted that its own brand has been cloned in campaigns designed to trick users into downloading fake antivirus software — software that is itself malware. The cruel elegance of this approach is hard to overstate: users seeking protection from cyber threats are instead led directly into them. It is a tactic that exploits not just technological vulnerabilities but human psychology — the instinct to trust a familiar name in a moment of anxiety about digital security.

What Defenders Are Doing — and What Still Needs to Happen

The cybersecurity industry is not standing still. Companies like Malwarebytes are investing in automated brand monitoring tools that scan the internet for unauthorized use of trademarks, logos, and proprietary content. Takedown services — which coordinate with hosting providers, domain registrars, and search engines to remove fraudulent sites — have become a growth industry in their own right. Browser-based protections, including real-time phishing detection powered by machine learning, are also improving, though they remain imperfect.

On the regulatory front, momentum is building for stronger requirements around platform accountability. The European Union’s Digital Services Act and proposed updates to U.S. federal cybercrime statutes both contemplate greater obligations for platforms that host user-generated content, including websites built with AI tools. Industry groups have called for standardized brand verification protocols — akin to the blue checkmark systems used on social media — that would allow consumers to quickly confirm whether a website is operated by the entity it claims to represent.

The Arms Race Has Only Just Begun

Yet for all the progress on the defensive side, the fundamental asymmetry of the problem remains. Building a convincing fake is faster, cheaper, and easier than detecting and dismantling one. AI website builders will only become more capable, and the volume of fraudulent sites will continue to grow. The challenge for the cybersecurity community, for regulators, and for the technology industry at large is not merely to keep pace with the threat but to fundamentally rethink the trust architecture of the internet.

Consumers, meanwhile, must adapt to a reality in which visual appearance alone is no longer a reliable indicator of legitimacy. Verifying URLs character by character, navigating to brand sites through bookmarks or official app stores rather than search results or email links, and maintaining up-to-date security software are all essential habits. But individual vigilance, while necessary, is not sufficient. The systemic nature of the threat demands systemic solutions — solutions that, as of now, remain very much a work in progress.

As Malwarebytes warned, the criminals have found a new and devastatingly effective tool. The question is no longer whether AI will be used to perpetrate fraud at scale — it already is. The question is whether the institutions charged with defending the digital economy can mount a response commensurate with the threat before the damage becomes irreversible.