Shoppers who believed they were supporting a Welsh jewellery business say they have lost hundreds of pounds to an artificial intelligence scam. The website, Seren Cardiff Jewellery, claimed to be a Cardiff-based company closing down for “personal reasons”, but customers say they paid for items months ago and never received them.
The website was taken down after BBC Wales contacted the company, and no response has been received to requests for comment.
“When you read all the reviews it's obvious this AI company has stolen hundreds of pounds from people,” said Lowri Ann, from Cardiff.
The website said it was running a closing-down sale with discounts of up to 80%, and urged customers to buy the remaining stock before the business closed for good. It also said it was ending trading because of the cost-of-living crisis.
Lowri said she was drawn in because the business appeared to be local and the jewellery looked genuine.
“I saw the name Seren Cardiff and thought, 'wow, a local business'.
The jewellery looked beautiful and everything was heavily discounted.
There was a message on the website saying they had to close because of the cost-of-living crisis, so I decided to buy.”
Lowri says she is usually good at spotting scams, but the website fooled her. She spent about £100 on earrings and a necklace, but weeks later nothing had arrived.
“I emailed several times but never got a response,” said Lowri.
“Then I started investigating and realised the images had been stolen from other websites.
That's when I realised I'd been scammed.”
“Something needs to be done to stop it,” Lowri said.
How did Finnley Idris realise something was wrong?
Finnley Idris was looking for a birthday present for his girlfriend when he came across the website. Because the company claimed to be Welsh, he said he wanted to support a local business.
“I wanted to buy her something local. The website looked really professional and everything seemed genuine,” he said.
After waiting several weeks, there was still no sign of the jewellery. He then used a reverse image search tool and found that the pictures had been taken from other websites.
“I ran the images through a reverse image search tool and discovered they'd been taken from other websites.
That's when it clicked that I'd been scammed.”
Finnley said nothing seemed suspicious at first, including claims on the website about a “30-day money-back guarantee and secure payment”.
“Everything looked real. It was only afterwards that I realised it was all fake,” he said.
He believes there needs to be greater regulation of AI-generated content.
“AI has made it far too easy to create websites that look completely legitimate, he said.
“Now it feels like you have to question everything you see online.”
Why did Jack Knowles look closer at the site?
Jack Knowles started taking a closer look at the Seren Cardiff Jewellery website after his mother became frustrated that her order had not arrived, despite spending hundreds of pounds.
He said he tried to track the order and contact the company, but without success.
“Mum had bought a bracelet from the website and weeks later there was still no parcel,” he said.
“I tried to find parcel tracking or a way of contacting them, but there was nothing.
We sent loads of emails too, but never got a reply.”
After investigating further, Jack said he realised how sophisticated the scam was.
“It looked like a genuine website. It was professional. Mum didn't realise, and neither did I.”
He believes the growing use of AI is making it easier for scammers to create convincing fake websites.
“It's quite frightening that AI can produce a website that looks so realistic, and that it's now so easy to do,” he said.
“It's going to keep happening unless something is done.”
What are police and government saying?
Det Insp Iolo Edwards of North Wales Police said AI-powered scams were becoming increasingly common.
“Criminals are using technology such as AI to create websites that appear completely legitimate, making it much harder for consumers to spot a scam,” he said.
“The use of AI needs to develop alongside measures that protect the public.
“As the technology advances, it's important that people can have confidence in what they see online.”
A UK government spokesperson said that under the Online Safety Act, external companies must protect users from illegal fraud, “including where it's AI generated”.
“Using the internet to scam people is a vile act and we take this issue incredibly seriously,” they added.
“From next year, major platforms will also have to comply with additional duties under the Act to further protect users from paid-for fraudulent advertising.”
Key Facts
- Seren Cardiff Jewellery claimed to be a Cardiff-based business closing down for “personal reasons”.
- Customers say they spent hundreds of pounds and received no items.
- Lowri Ann spent about £100 on earrings and a necklace.
- Finnley Idris used a reverse image search and found the photos had been taken from other websites.
- North Wales Police says AI-powered scams are becoming increasingly common.
