JOHN: WITH THE GIFT GIVING SEASON JUST AROUND THE CORNER, SHOPPERS LOOKING FOR GOOD DEALS ARE GETTING SAVVIER -- BUT SO ARE HOLIDAY SCAMMERS.

ONE IN THREE AMERICANS SAY THEY'VE FALLEN PREY TO AN ONLINE SHOPPING SCAM.

JUST LAST YEAR, SCAMS INVOLVING ITEMS THAT WERE EITHER COUNTERFEIT OR NEVER DELIVERED COST PEOPLE MORE THAN $700 MILLION.

ALI ROGIN EXPLORES THESE SCAMS WITH ALISSA ABDULLAH, DEPUTY CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER FOR MASTERCARD.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST COMMON HOLIDAY SCAMS PEOPLE SHOULD BE LOOKING OUT FOR?

>> THE MOST COMMON HOLIDAY SCAMS ARE THESE FLASHY ADS, BIG DISCOUNTS.

THOSE ARE THINGS YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT.

ANOTHER COMMON HOLIDAY SCAM MAY BE CHARITABLE WEBSITES.

WE ARE IN A TIME WHEN PEOPLE ARE IN THE SEASON OF GIVING, YOU MIGHT WANT TO BE CAREFUL AND VERIFY THE WEBSITE, VERIFY THE CHARITY, AND MAKE SURE IT IS A VERIFY CHARITY BEFORE YOU DONATE.

ALI: WHAT CAN PEOPLE TRY TO MAKE SURE THOSE SHOPPING SITES AND CHARITY SITES ARE LEGITIMATE?

>> THE FIRST THING I TELL PEOPLE TO DO IS TAKE A BEAT.

TAKE A PAUSE, GO AND DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH ON THAT WEBSITE.

THE EASIEST THING TO DO.

THEN YOU CAN SAY, I WILL GO ON THE PLATFORM.

YOU NEED TO VERIFY THE PLATFORM.

SOMETIMES THE WEBSITE MAY LOOK GOOD, THE CHARITY MAY SOUND RIGHT, BUT THE PLATFORM IS A LITTLE SHAKY.

YOU NEED TO VERIFY ALL OF THOSE THINGS.

I LOOK AT THE URL TO MAKE SURE WORDS ARE SPELLED RIGHT.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE A PAYMENT, YOU WANT TO USE HTTPS.

THE S ON THE END OF HTTP MEANS SECURE.

WHEN I'M SENDING MONEY FROM MY COMPUTER TO ANOTHER PERSON, IT IS THROUGH A SECURE TUNNEL.

ALI: MASTERCARD PUT OUT A REPORT THAT SAID THAT NEARLY HALF OF TODAY'S CONSUMERS ARE LIKELY TO IGNORE THE RED FLAGS AND SOMETHING BEING A BIG FLASHY SALES IF THERE IS A REALLY REALLY LUCRATIVE DEAL BEHIND IT.

THEY MIGHT JUST PURCHASE THAT THING ANYWAY.

WHY IS THAT AND HOW SHOULD PEOPLE AVOID FALLING INTO THOSE TRAPS?

>> WE ALWAYS WANT TO GET THE BIG DEAL.

CYBER CRIMINALS KNOW THAT AS WELL.

WHEN THEY ARE THINKING ABOUT IT, THEY ARE TARGETING US WITH QR CODES, FLASHY, URGENT, YOU HAVE TO CLICK THIS LINK RIGHT NOW.

ACTUALLY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO CLICK THE LINK RIGHT NOW.

IF YOU MISS THAT DEAL AT ONE STORE, YOU WILL FIND IT AT NOTHER.

I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE, TAKE A PAUSE, VERIFY.

IT IS OK.

THAT IS THE SUGGESTION THAT GOES PAST HOLIDAY SEASON.

ALI: HOW LUCRATIVE ARE THESE SCAMS TO SCAMMERS?

>> VERY VERY LUCRATIVE.

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A BIG, BIG BUSINESS GLOBALLY.

YOU THINK ABOUT IT FROM A GOOD PERSON'S PERSPECTIVE OR THE CYBERSECURITY PERSPECTIVE, WE HAVE TO GET IT RIGHT EVERY SINGLE TIME.

THE SCAMMER HAS TO GET IT RIGHT MAYBE ONCE OR TWICE.

THEN YOU HAVE A BIG PAYCHECK COMING IN.

WE TAKE NOTE OF THAT.

WE USE A LOT OF TOOLS OF THE BACKGROUND TO MAKE SURE WE ARE FIGHTING, NOT JUST FIGHTING AND DETECTING BUT ALSO PREVENTING.

WE KNOW NOW WITH AI HOW WE CAN PREVENT FRAUDULENT TRANSACTIONS AND PREVENT A CARD BEING COMPROMISED BEFORE YOU KNOW IT IS COMPROMISED.

IT IS A TRICKY TIME NOW, BUT WE HAVE TOOLS IN PLACE TO HELP.

ALI: WITHOUT ASKING YOU TO REVEAL TOO MUCH ABOUT SOURCES, WHAT IS A COMPANY LIKE MASTERCARD DOING TO KEEP CUSTOMERS SAFE?

>> BEFORE, WE WOULD TAKE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DATA.

WE WOULD TRIANGULATE THAT DATA AND FROM THAT INFORMATION SAYING THIS APPEARS TO BE FRAUDULENT.

NOW AI HAS GIVEN US LEAPS AND BOUNDS.

WE HAVE BEEN USING AI FOR THE PAST TWO DECADES.

MANY THINK ABOUT THREAT INTELLIGENCE, LOOKING AT AT PATTERNS AND PATTERN RECOGNITION AND KNOWING, IS ALI REALLY IN BAHRAIN MAKING THIS PURCHASE?

NO, SHE ISN'T.

THOSE ARE THE THINGS WE LOOK AT BUT NOW WE HAVE MORE DATA POINTS ABOUT YOU, YOUR TRANSACTIONS, ALL THE INFORMATION, STORES, YOUR PATTERNS, YOUR HABITS THAT WE CAN PUT TOGETHER IN A MATTER OF SECONDS TO HELP MAKE A DECISION ON WHETHER THE TRANSACTION IS FRAUDULENT OR REAL.

ALI: WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE UNFAMILIAR WITH THE DEGREE TO WHICH AI IS PLAYING A ROLE IN THEIR PURCHASES?

> PEOPLE ARE ALREADY I THINK USING AI NOW IN ORDER TO THINK THROUGH, WHAT DO I WANT TO BUY MY SPOUSE?

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT FROM THE OTHER PERSPECTIVE, AI IS BEING USED TO TARGET PEOPLE, AI IS BEING USED TO FAKE NOT JUST WEBSITES, BUT YOUR VOICE, YOUR DIALECT, YOUR INTONATION, YOUR EMAILS.

THERE IS A BALANCE.

WE ARE USING IT FOR GOOD, FOR OUR LEVEL OF CONVENIENCE, BUT THEN THE ADVERSARY IS ALSO USING IT ON THEIR SIDE.

LUCKILY WE'VE GOT TOOLS IN PLACE, AND CONVERSATIONS LIKE THIS TO REMIND PEOPLE, SLOW DOWN, WATCH, TURN ON YOUR NOTIFICATION, KNOW WHAT IS COMING OUT OF YOUR ACCOUNT SO YOU KNOW YOU CAN STOP THINGS ON YOUR OWN AS WELL.

ALI: ALISSA ABDULLAH, DEPUTY CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER FOR MASTERCARD, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

JOHN: STILL TO COME ON PBS NEWS WEEKEND.

THE GROWING POPULARITY OF PLUG-IN SOLAR PANELS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.

AND, AS THE WORLD'S GLACIERS MELT, SCIENTISTS INVESTIGATE WHETHER THAT WILL LEAD TO STRONGER EARTHQUAKES AND MORE VIOLENT VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS.

ANNOUNCER: THIS IS PBS NEWS WEEKEND FROM THE DAVID M. RUBENSTEIN STUDIO AT WETA IN WASHINGTON, HOME OF THE PBS NEWS HOUR, WEEKNIGHTS ON PBS.