Dylan Croll
Thanks to artificial intelligence (AI), financial scams have become much more sophisticated today than the unprofessional emails sent by a Nigerian royal promising your grandmother a huge windfall.
Experts have reported that scammers use artificial intelligence in order to convince victims to accept FaceTime calls or emails, as well as phone calls and emails. The scammers pretend to be prospective lovers, good friends or even IRS agents.
The experts are concerned that fraud will become so difficult to detect, the issue could escalate. Experts urge Americans not to fall for scams.
Haywood Telcove, the CEO at LexisNexis Risk Solutions (a company offering identity fraud protection) said, “This is criminal 3.0.” With the help of these technologies, it’s possible to breach most of the protections we set up for our financial and government institutions.
AI is not a good thing for anyone
Online scams are on the rise. Consumers lost $8.8 billion in fraud according to the Federal Trade Commission. That’s a 19% jump from 2021.
Kathy Stokes of AARP, director of fraud protection, says these figures don’t represent the real extent of the issue, as most scams are not reported.
Stokes told reporters, “We’re not sure how large it is but we do know that it’s bigger than any thing we’ve seen before.”
The FTC has recently released data showing that young people are at greater risk of fraud now than older adults.
Stokes says that artificial intelligence is part of the fraud problem since a very long time. The generative AI has added a level of sophistication.
The 16th
Dylan Croll
Financial scams today are more sophisticated and convincing thanks to artificial intelligent.
Fraudsters use FaceTime calls and email to manipulate their victims using artificial intelligence. The scammers can pose as IRS agents, IRS officers, IRS close friends or potential lovers.
The experts are warning that fraud is on the rise and could be at unprecedented levels. Experts urge Americans not to fall victim to scams.
Haywood Talcove CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions – a company that provides identity fraud prevention amongst other services – said, “We call this crime 3.0.” We can blow past most defenses put up by our government and financial institutions with this technology, whether it is artificial intelligence or deep-fake.
ChatGPT is displayed in New York on May 18, 2023. Two lawyers claim that ChatGPT induced them to include false legal research into their court documents. A judge has yet to decide if they will be sanctioned. The lawyers in Manhattan federal court apologized on June 8 2023 for being involved with written submissions, which had Judge Kevin Castel baffled.
AI poses a challenge to everyone.
The Federal Trade Commission released data in February that showed consumers had lost $8.8 Billion in online scams by 2022. This represents a 19% rise over the prior year.
Kathy Stokes of AARP FraudWatch Network or the Director of Fraud Prevention at AARP says the figures do not accurately reflect the extent of online fraud because the majority of scams that are reported to authorities don’t occur.
Stokes: “We’re not sure how large it is but know that it’s much bigger than anything we’ve ever imagined.”
Recent FTC data shows that fraud is more common amongst young people than it is for seniors.
Stokes explained that AI was a serious problem not only for elderly people, but for all. “AI has been used for fraud since many years,” he said. The way that they are targeting people is so sophisticated now, thanks to this generative AI.
It’s only when older adults are the target that they suffer more losses. The criminals want the retirement savings they made – an income insurance policy, if the victim is widowed or home equity.
I do not see you as a 25 year old fraudster
According to experts, in several scams, criminals are using artificial intelligence to more effectively deceive their victim.
Adam Brewer told Yahoo Finance, as a tax lawyer: “Criminals are now able to use ChatGPT for more persuasive requests of money.”
Now it’s more polished. Brewer stated that the scripts and letters are written by computers. Brewer said that it would be much harder for the general public to notice.
The romance scam involves fraudsters posing as potential lovers to fool victims into sending them money. The deepfake technique can be abused by scammers to modify their voices and images. This kind of fraud occurs most often among older, lonely men.
Talcove told her, “You look more like a woman of 40 than a fraudster aged 25. Your voice, your appearance, everything is in line with that.” You’re then looking at the worst impact of artificial intelligent.
The ransom scam was another issue that came up. This is when a close family member or friend calls you in the middle night and asks for money.
Your phone rings and it sounds like your child. They’ve been arrested in the Bahamas. It’s your kid on the other end of the line. They have been detained in Bahamas. Talcove advised: “You need to get them $5,000 as soon as possible.”
If you’ve ever heard it, then this is the place to go.
To combat fraud of this nature, several actions are recommended by experts.
Talcove says that to prevent ransom-fraud, children of adult age should ensure their parents are not sending money by using family passwords they would not know.
Beware of messages that cause a “heightened emotion state,” like winning lots of money, or starting a romance.
It’s difficult to get out of that place, our amygdala. Stokes noted that the criminals knew this long before. They’re using better tools, and we should pay more attention.
The red flag indicates an emotional response to the incoming message. It’s a red flag. You should be disengaging there.
Stokes recommends conducting a “reverse image search” on social media sites to verify someone’s identity.
The person who appears under another’s name is clearly trying to scam and deceive, said she. But she admitted that reverse image searches are not quite as efficient “when I create an actual human, and then I can create hundreds more humans that do exist but seem real.”
Brewer warns people to be suspicious about government demands for immediate action. Government agencies such as the IRS are slow and unlikely to reach out via email, phone or text.
Brewer explained that they will need a lot of time to deliver letters. It’s a scam when someone texts you or calls you and tells you you have to take action in the coming minutes, days or hours. That’s just not how the IRS works.
Brewer argued that awareness is the best defence against fraud.
This is what separates victims from the rest. He said that if you know about the scam, then your mind automatically puts it under fraud. If you haven’t heard, then your mind may run away and send money to someone, or you could do something regrettable. You’re now instantly skeptical.”
