Hackers are increasingly viewing artificial intelligence as a shortcut to committing cybercrime, rather than debating its technological merits. This perspective is reshaping the cybercrime ecosystem, making it accessible even to those without deep technical skills or experience. The concept of “vibe hacking” embodies this shift, where intuition, guided by AI, replaces the need for mastering tools or systems. AI is seen as a confidence booster, enabling anyone to participate in cybercrime by following intuitive guidance from AI tools. Despite safeguards against generating malicious content, bypassing these restrictions, known as AI jailbreaking, has become a commodity. Techniques to evade safety controls are openly traded and sold. A variety of underground tools branded as AI copilots for crime, such as FraudGPT and PhishGPT, are marketed as solutions that provide step-by-step guidance for cybercriminal activities. These tools often rely on language models wrapped around prompts, offering confidence and ease rather than requiring technical expertise. The crimes being sold, like email hacking and credential access, haven’t changed much, but the language has shifted to emphasize automation and ease. AI is now used as a seal of approval, even when the involvement of AI is unclear. This change in mentality has led to a broader transition away from physical risk towards low-effort, AI-enabled shortcuts. Much of this was outlined and predicted in a previous article written by CTIX analysts: ‘Dark’ AI: The Emergence of Generative AI Tools Tailored for Threat Actors. AI-branded hacking services target first-time fraudsters and low-skill actors, promising that no experience is needed. This mirrors existing models like phishing-as-a-service, scaling cybercrime by reducing fear and friction. AI is making cybercrime feel easy, encouraging reckless behavior and promoting confidence over comprehension. The underground cybercrime landscape is increasingly comfortable acting on imperfect AI results, scaling abuse despite the absence of revolutionary new attack methods. CTIX analysts will continue monitoring emerging threat actor activities and behaviors.