27 January 2026
28 January 2026
We fight online fraud with the power of AI
People haven’t changed. The scams have.
Fraud in trade is nothing new. From counterfeit coins in ancient markets to fake tickets on street corners, attempting to deceive others in markets is a practice as old as commerce itself. What has changed are the methods. On online platforms where buyers and sellers rarely meet face-to-face, fraudsters often feel bold enough to commit scams. With rapidly evolving technology at their fingertips, their methods are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
Catching fraud before it spreads
At OLX, we approach this as both a challenge and a commitment to our customers. The challenge lies in staying one step ahead of fraud. The commitment is fulfilled by using our deep expertise in AI, which we leverage to make our marketplaces safer.
We developed AI solutions, including advanced machine learning models, to protect interactions on our global marketplaces. Our systems moderate chat messages in real time, identify suspicious ads, and detect deceptive activity before it reaches our users.
Dangerous images
One of the evolving issues we face today is the use of fraudulent images in sales chats. In Poland, for example, these images represent around 30% of all fraud cases on our online platform. To combat this issue effectively, we developed an AI solution called Chat Images GenAI.
Our powerful fraud-buster uses generative AI to detect and block suspicious images in real time. The solution benefits from extensive pre-trained knowledge and applies defined rules to identify fraudulent images on our platform. It flags pictures that appear to be inauthentic and stops potential fraud attempts immediately.
Fast & smart containment of new threats
We’re especially proud that Chat Images GenAI has proven particularly effective against a scheme that has become increasingly common on classified ad portals – QR code fraud.
The mechanism is simple and it can look like this: during what seems like a legitimate sales conversation, cybercriminals send a QR code through the platform’s chat function.
However, scanning the code can lead to a malicious external website where the potential victim is encouraged to enter sensitive data, such as credit card information. If users aren’t careful, this can cause serious harm.
But here is the good news:
- Our AI solution is highly effective at preventing this dangerous practice, spotting fraudulent QR codes with 80% precision.
- Thanks to our smart system, tested and refined across our Polish marketplace, we can spot and ban fraudulent accounts as they strike.
- As Chat Images GenAI never sleeps, it ensures the safety of thousands of conversations every day.
Alongside OLX Poland, our AI tool is already live in several other countries — Portugal, Bulgaria, Romania, and others — where it’s making sure that harmful images don’t stand a chance. And this is just the beginning, with more OLX markets on the way.
Our anti-fraud AI system does more than prevent scams – it gives our users peace of mind to focus on what really matters: making great deals.
