Nearly 90% of Americans say they can’t tell what’s real online

Americans aren’t just battling rising prices; they’re also facing a growing crisis of trust.

Data platform Checkr’s latest report, The Great Untrust, found that 88% of Americans struggle to distinguish what’s real online from what’s not.

The report—which surveyed 3,000 consumers across Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers—highlights how AI-driven scams, fake product reviews, and deepfake videos are reshaping everyday shopping behavior.

The report found 70% of respondents said they backed out of a purchase because they were afraid of being scammed. And 61% said they’ve abandoned a website, app, or platform entirely because it felt off or seemed flooded with fakes.

Meanwhile, more than 4 in 5 shoppers said scam concerns influence their online habits, and 1 in 5 said fraud fears have stopped them from making big financial decisions like investing or booking travel.

But if retailers want to bring back that trust, consumers do have some ideas. For starters, 63% of shoppers said that verified customer reviews were the ultimate signal of trust, followed by word-of-mouth recommendations (51%), company credentials or trust badges (46%), and background checks (44%).

Concerns around transparency and the reliability of AI aren’t new, but they’re intensifying.

A Deloitte study from September, for instance, found that 74% of people who were “familiar with” or experimenting with GenAI said it has become harder to trust what they see online as the technology proliferates.

The anxiety comes at a pivotal moment for retail. AI is becoming more embedded in the shopping experience, with major retailers like Walmart and Target announcing partnerships with ChatGPT creator OpenAI.