Apple Intelligence appears to have fallen for one of the oldest scams of all: phishing emails.

Originally reported by Android Authority, several Reddit users have observed that Apple Intelligence's AI-powered filter in the Mail app is preferentially marking scam emails.WWDC presentation, Apple announced several features for Apple Intelligence. These include a mailing list summary that saves users time by determining the importance of an email and alerting them to what they should focus on.

However, if AI pushes scam emails, it could increase the number of people who fall for them, resulting in consequences such as losing access to accounts or large sums of money. Phishing scams usually appear to be genuine emails from companies such as banks or Amazon, and trick users into clicking on malicious links. In most cases, such scams are very easy to spot, but AI boosts them, adding a new layer of legitimacy that could fool many people.

It is not clear why AI would do this, but perhaps it is an indication that Apple Intelligence now focuses more on the content of the email than on the address or other landmarks. FYI, the usual way to tell if an email is from a malicious source is the sender's address, which is usually misspelled or has an incorrect extension that is not commonly used.

Given that Apple Intelligence is still in beta, problems like these are still fixable. However, if you see an email from a company you use, we recommend that you go directly to their website rather than clicking on the link, just to be safe. It is also a good idea to invest in antivirus software. Antivirus software will warn you when a link tries to lead you to a suspicious location.

There is no doubt that this is a major problem, especially as AI is designed to make technology more accessible. Unfortunately, many of those who fall for such scams are often older people who don't know what to look out for. Therefore, it is imperative that Apple be aware of this problem and work to resolve the issue before the official release of Apple Intelligence.

For more information on how to protect yourself, see our complete breakdown of phishing scams and how to avoid them.