The FBI announced Monday that artificial intelligence will be used to generate fake videos used in sextortion schemes to harass minors and unconstrained adults and coerce them into paying ransoms and complying with other demands. He warned that usage is on the rise.
The scourge of sextortion has been around for decades. This includes deceiving online acquaintances and strangers into providing payment, explicit or sexually themed photos, or other solicitations by threatening to share dangerous images they have already obtained with the public. included. In some cases, the images owned by the scammers are genuine and obtained from the victim’s acquaintances or compromised accounts. Other times, scammers simply claim to have explicit content without providing any proof.
After convincing the victim that the explicit or risky photos are the property of the scammer, the scammer demands some form of payment in exchange for not sending the content to family, friends, or employers. increase. When victims send sexually explicit images as payment, scammers often use new content to keep the scam going as long as possible.
The FBI said in a warning issued Monday that in recent months there has been an increase in the use of AI to generate fake videos that appear to show real people engaging in sexually explicit acts. Stated.
“The FBI continues to receive reports from victims, including minors and adults without consent, whose photos and videos have been altered in explicit material,” the officials wrote. “Photos and videos are then publicly disseminated on social media and pornographic websites for the purpose of harassing victims and plotting sextortion.”
They went on to write:
As of April 2023, the FBI has determined that fake images and videos made from content posted on social media sites and web posts, provided to malicious actors upon request, or during video chats. We are observing an increase in sextortion victims reporting the use of fake images and videos captured on . Based on recent damage reports, malicious actors typically make requests such as: 1. Demanding payment (money, gift cards, etc.) threatening to share images or videos with family or social media friends if funds are not received. OR 2. The victim submits an actual sexually themed image or video.
Software and cloud-based services for creating so-called deepfake videos are plentiful online, ranging from free and open source products to subscription accounts. Advances in AI in recent years have greatly improved the quality of these services, making it possible to create realistic videos using just a single image of him on a person’s face and using that person’s likeness in a fake him video. became.
Most deepfake products, at least ostensibly, have built-in checks designed to prevent deepfake exploits, such as using built-in checks designed to prevent programs from running on “inappropriate media.” Includes protection. In practice, these guardrails are often easily circumvented and unrestricted services are available in underground markets.
Scammers often obtain photos of their victims, such as from social media, and use them to create “realistic and sexually themed images that look like their victims” and post them on social media, public forums, or pornography. It will be distributed on its website, FBI officials warned. . “Many victims, including minors, are unaware that their images have been copied, manipulated, or circulated until someone brings them to their attention. “It was self-discovered on the internet. We may face significant challenges in preventing it.”
The FBI has urged people to take precautions to prevent their images from being used for deepfakes.
“Although seemingly harmless when posted or shared, images and videos can provide malicious individuals with rich content to exploit for criminal activity,” the official said. “Advancements in content creation technology and personal images accessible online are creating new opportunities for malicious actors to find and target their victims. vulnerable to permanent loss or sustained re-harm over a long period of time.”
The person who was threatened with sextortion recorded all available evidence, in particular screenshots, texts, audio tapes, usernames, email addresses, names of websites or platforms used for communication, IP addresses I need to save the email. You can report sextortion immediately to:
