Washington (7News) — The Federal Intelligence Service is warning the public about scammers using artificial intelligence to create pornographic images of innocent people.
The agency said it has received numerous reports from people, including children, that photos and videos have been altered into explicit content. These scammers, or what the FBI calls “bad actors,” circulate AI-altered images on social media and pornographic websites for the purpose of harassment and sextortion schemes. explained the FBI.
The FBI said there will be a sharp rise in sextortion cases in 2023. Victims typically say malicious actors demand payment to have the images removed or not shared further, or require compliance with other demands.
Experts said the best way to avoid becoming a victim is to be careful when posting photos and videos or sending messages online.
Here is the full list of recommendations from the FBI:
- Monitor children’s online activities and discuss risks associated with sharing personal content
- Please be careful when posting images, videos or personal content online, especially content that contains children or their information.
- Perform frequent online searches of your and your child’s information (full name, address, phone number, etc.) to identify the exposure and spread of personal information on the Internet.
- Apply privacy settings (such as private settings for your profile and friends list) to your social media accounts to limit the visibility of your photos, videos, and other private information.
- Consider using a reverse image search engine to find photos and videos that have unknowingly circulated around the internet.
- Be careful when accepting friend requests, communicating, video chatting, or sending pictures to people you don’t personally know. Be especially wary of anyone who demands or pressures you to provide information immediately. These items can be screen captured, recorded, manipulated, shared without your knowledge or consent and used to exploit you or your acquaintances.
- Do not give money or other valuables to strangers or strangers. There is no guarantee that sensitive photos or content will not be shared even if you follow a malicious actor.
- Be cautious when interacting online with known individuals whose behavior you believe deviates from your normal patterns of behavior. Hacked social media accounts can be easily manipulated by malicious actors to gain the trust of friends and contacts and spark further criminal schemes and activities.
- Secure your social media and other online accounts with complex passwords or passphrases and multi-factor authentication.
- Research the privacy, data sharing, and data retention policies of social media platforms, apps, and websites before uploading and sharing images, videos, or other personal content.
If you believe you’ve been the victim of this type of fraud, officials say to keep all information about the incident and report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center or field office.
