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Artificial intelligence has made financial scams much more sophisticated than those poorly written emails that your grandmother got from a Nigerian Prince promising her a fortune.
Experts say that fraudsters are using AI to send convincing FaceTime, email, or phone calls to their victims. Scammers pose as potential lovers, friends and IRS agents.
Experts warn that the fraud could become almost impossible to detect. The experts urge Americans to avoid scams.
Haywood Talcove is the CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions. The company offers protection against identity fraud. It is possible for this technology to bypass most of our tools that we’ve set up to safeguard our financial institutions, our government institutions, and even our own employees.
Everyone has a problem when it comes to AI
In recent years, online scams have increased. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that consumers will lose $8.8 Billion to fraud by 2022. This is a 19% rise from last year.
Kathy Stokes is AARP’s fraud prevention director. She says that these statistics don’t accurately reflect the extent of online scams because most aren’t reported.
Stokes stated, “We do not know the size of it, but it is so much larger than anything that we have ever seen.”
Recent FTC statistics show that younger people are more susceptible to being scammed than older people.
Stokes believes that fraud is a widespread problem, affecting not only older adults but also younger people. Artificial intelligence has played a role in the criminal industry for many years. But now, the generative AI brings a new level of sophistication.
The 16th
Dylan Croll
Artificial intelligence has made financial scams more convincing and sophisticated than when a Nigerian Prince sent an email to your grandmother promising her a fortune.
Scammers use artificial intelligence to convince unsuspecting targets through FaceTime, emails, and phone calls. Scammers may pretend to be prospective lovers, friends or IRS agents.
Experts warn that fraud may reach unimaginable levels as the crime becomes virtually undetectable. The experts urge Americans to be vigilant to prevent being scammed.
Haywood Talcove is the CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions. The company offers data analytics and identity fraud protection, among other services. “We are able, with the help of these technologies — be it artificial intelligence, deep-fake, or generative AI — to breach most of the security measures that financial institutions and governments have in place.”
The ChatGPT application is shown on an iPhone in New York May 18th 2023. The judge will decide whether or not to punish two lawyers for claiming that ChatGPT tricked the pair into using false research on their court papers. On Thursday, 8th June 2023 in Manhattan Federal Court, two lawyers apologized to Judge Kevin Castel for the involvement they had made with written submissions which left him both confused and upset.
AI is not a solution for all.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, data from February revealed that consumers lost approximately $8.8 billion in 2022 due to internet scams, an increase of 19% over the year before.
Kathy Stokes is the director of Fraud Prevention at AARP, and Fraud Watch network. She says that the statistics do not represent the real extent of the issue because many online scams go unreported.
Stokes stated, “We do not know the size of it but it’s larger than what we could imagine.”
Recent FTC statistics show that younger people are now more likely to fall victim to fraud than older adults.
Stokes stated that AI is not only a concern for the elderly. It has also been used to commit frauds for years. But this AI generating makes their targeting of people much more sophisticated.
When older adults are targeted, the crime is more severe because they lose the retirement assets that they’ve saved – insurance policies if widowed and their home equity.
You don’t look like a fraudster of 25 years old
Experts say that criminals can use artificial intelligence in several types of scams to deceive victims better.
Adam Brewer is a tax attorney who told Yahoo Finance criminals could now use ChatGPT to send letters that were more convincing in their request for money.
Just more polished. Brewer explained that they write letters or scripts using computers. This will be harder to detect for an average person.
Romance scams are a type of scam where fraudsters pretend to be prospective lovers in order to trick their victims into giving them money. Fraudsters can use deepfake technologies to change their appearance and even their voice. This fraud type is more common in elderly men who are lonely.
Talcove stated, “You do not look like an attractive 40-year old woman. Everything fits your image and voice.” This is one of the most devastating effects of artificial intelligence.
Ransom fraud was also highlighted, in which people are called by a friend or loved one asking for money at night.
You’re in bed. You hear your child’s voice on the phone and learn that they have been arrested in The Bahamas. Talcove told me to immediately send $5,000.
If you have heard about it
Experts recommend several ways to combat this type of fraud.
Talcove advised that adult children can help prevent ransom scams by ensuring their parents do not send money to strangers using a password the family would never know.
Watch out for any messages which create an “emotional state” such as winning money or beginning a romantic relationship.
The amygdala is a part of the brain that makes it difficult to access logic. Stokes stated that criminals had known about this fact for many years. We need to be aware of the fact that their tools have improved so much.
Red flags are emotional reactions to incoming communications. This is the red flag. “That’s the flag.
Stokes suggested conducting a reverse-image search on social media in order to confirm someone’s identity.
She said that it is clear that they are trying to trick you and scam you when their images appear with other names. However, she acknowledged that a reverse search was not nearly as useful “when I have created an actual person and can create hundreds of others that do not exist but look real.”
Brewer says that people need to be very suspicious when the government asks them for an immediate response. The IRS is a government agency that moves slowly. It’s unlikely they will contact you via phone, text, or email first.
Brewer stated that it would take them a very long time to write letters. You can rest assured that any calls, emails, or texts that tell you to act within the next couple of minutes, hours or days are scams. The IRS does not operate on that timetable.
Brewer concluded that the best way to combat fraud was by being aware.
It’s this that keeps people safe. “If you have heard of it, it will be in your mind as fraud,” said he. If you had not heard about it, you might send someone money or do something that you regret. “Now you are instantly skeptical.
