Deepfake:
Scammer using AI to change face and voice persuades businessman that he is a friend and needs 4.3 million yuan for public bid
A Chinese scammer used artificial intelligence (AI) to pose as a trusted friend of a businessman and persuade him to hand over millions of yuan, officials said.
The victim, surnamed Guo, received a video call last month from someone who appeared to be a close friend. But an article published on Monday by a media portal affiliated with the Fuzhou municipal government said the caller was actually a scammer who “uses smart AI technology to change his face and voice.”
Scammers ‘spoofed’ [Guo’s] Good friends and scammers,” the article said.
File photo: AFP
Ms. Guo was persuaded to transfer 4.3 million yuan (about US$610,000) after a scammer claimed that another friend had to withdraw money from the company’s bank account to pay a security deposit for an open bid.
The scammer asked for Mr. Guo’s personal bank account number, claimed that the same amount had been transferred to that account, and sent Mr. Guo screenshots of fraudulent payment records. Mr. Guo transferred the total requested amount twice from the company’s account without confirming that he had received the money.
The article quoted Mr. Guo as saying, “At the time, I confirmed the face and voice of the person who called me by video call, so I let my guard down.”
He only realized his mistake after sending a message to a friend whose identity had been stolen, who knew nothing about the transaction.
According to the article, Mr. Guo called the police, who told banks in other cities not to proceed with the transfer, and managed to recover 3.4 million yuan.
Efforts to recoup the remaining funds are underway, according to the article, but no culprit behind the scheme has been identified.
The potential pitfalls of groundbreaking AI technology have received increasing attention since U.S.-based OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT, a chatbot that mimics human speech, last November.
China has announced ambitious plans to become the world’s AI leader by 2030, and a number of tech companies, including Alibaba, JD.com, NetEase and TikTok parent company ByteDance, are developing similar products. It is in a hurry.
ChatGPT isn’t available in China, but the US software is gaining a base of Chinese users who use virtual private networks to write essays and access exam cramming. However, it is also used for more nefarious purposes.
Police in Gansu province earlier this month announced that “compulsory action” had been taken against a man who used ChatGPT to create a fake news story about a bus accident and spread it widely on social media.
A law regulating deepfakes went into effect in January, banning the use of the technology to produce, publish or transmit fake news.
Additionally, Beijing’s internet regulator proposed a bill last month that would require all new AI products to undergo a “security assessment” before being released to the public.
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