Gone are the days when your grandmother received a bad email from a Nigerian prince promising windfall. Recently, thanks to AI, financial fraud has become much more sophisticated and believable.
Using artificial intelligence, scammers are making highly convincing FaceTime calls, phone calls, and emails to unsuspecting victims. Experts say they pose as future lovers, close friends and even IRS government employees.
Experts warn that the problem could reach unprecedented levels as fraud becomes nearly undetectable as a result. They warn Americans to stay vigilant against being scammed and recommend several ways to protect yourself.
“We call it Crime 3.0,” said Heywood Talcove, government group CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a data analytics company that protects against identity fraud. “The use of this technology, whether it be artificial intelligence, generative AI or deepfake technology, has the ability to break through most of the tools set to protect financial institutions and government agencies. “
“AI is a problem for everyone”
Online scams are on the rise these days. Consumers lost about $8.8 billion to fraud in 2022, according to Federal Trade Commission data released in February. This is a 19% increase from the previous year.
Kathy Stokes, director of fraud prevention at Fraud Watch Network (AARP), noted that most online fraud goes unreported, so numbers like this don’t reflect the true scale of the problem.
“We don’t know how big it is,” Stokes said. “But we know it’s much bigger than we imagine.”
He also noted that it’s not just older Americans who are affected by fraud. In fact, his recent FTC data shows that young people are now being scammed more often than older people.
“AI is a problem for everyone, not just older people, and versions of artificial intelligence have long been part of the scam,” Stokes said. “But now this generative AI is getting even more sophisticated in how it targets people.”
She added: “Just when the elderly are targeted, they tend to lose more because they have assets that they have saved for retirement, which is insurance if they are widowed and have a fortune. Then the criminal will get away.” After that. “
“I don’t look like a 25-year-old crook”
Criminals are using AI in several types of scams to successfully trick victims, experts say.
For example, ChatGPT allows criminals to send more convincing letters demanding money, tax attorney Adam Brewer told Yahoo Finance.
“The difference now is that it’s more sophisticated. We’re basically letting the computer write the script and the letters,” Brewer said. “It will be much harder for ordinary people to discover it.”
Talcove cited romance scams in which scammers pretend to be potential lovers to trick victims out of money. Scammers can use deepfake technology to alter their image and even their voice. Lonely older men are particularly vulnerable to this type of scam.
“You don’t look like a 25-year-old crook. You look like a 40-year-old attractive woman, and everything fits the image and the voice,” Talcove said. “For me, that’s when she’s witnessing one of the most devastating effects of artificial intelligence.”
He also spotlighted ransom scams. In this particular scam, Americans could receive calls in the middle of the night from family members or close friends demanding money urgently.
“You’re lying in bed at night. Your phone calls like your kids, they’re stuck in the Bahamas, they’re under arrest, and they need to wire $5,000 immediately.” Mr Talcove said. “They use generative AI for duplication and speech, but it’s not really your child.”
“If you’ve heard of it.”
Experts recommend several courses of action to combat this type of fraud.
One way to avoid ransom scams is to create passwords for family members that the scammers don’t know, Talcove said. To deter romance scams, adult children should advise parents not to send money to strangers.
Stokes, meanwhile, said potential victims should be wary of messages that provide “emotional uplift,” such as winning a lot of money or starting an exciting new romantic relationship.
“These things put us in the amygdala in our brains and make it harder for us to get out and access our logical thinking, and criminals have long known that,” says Stokes. said Mr. “And unfortunately the tools have become so good for them that they can cause so much harm, but we really need people to focus on that. .
she added: “That red flag is the emotional response to incoming communication. That’s the flag. That’s where you cut corners.”
To verify someone’s identity on social media, Stokes recommended people do a reverse image search.
“And when that person appears in someone else’s name, you know that person is trying to deceive and deceive you in some way,” she said, but reverse image searches “remember me.” I also acknowledged that it is not as effective as if I did. You just created a human and you can create hundreds of humans that don’t actually exist but look real. ”
Brewer added that people should be very suspicious of government requests for immediate action. Government agencies like the IRS are slow moving and rarely make initial contact by phone, email or text message.
“They will send letters, but the process will take time,” Brewer said. “So if someone calls you, texts you, or emails you and tells you that you have to act within minutes, days, or hours, that’s because the IRS is doing business with you. It is not a time frame to do so, so you can be confident that it is most likely a scam.”
Ultimately, Brewer said the best defense against fraud is recognizing the threat.
“That’s the difference between being a victim and not being a victim. Anyone who’s heard of it would put it in the scam category,” he said. “Now you’re instantly skeptical, but if you don’t hear about it, you might go crazy and send someone money or do something you regret later.”
Dylan Kroll is a reporter at Yahoo Finance.
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