If you are often the victim of phishing attempts, you will like this AI! Bitdefendeur launches Scamio, a free chatbot capable of analyzing received communications and detecting fraud attempts.
Spam and scams are unfortunately commonplace on the Internet, and those who are not tech-savvy may have difficulty distinguishing legitimate offers and messages from scams. According to a report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), losses suffered by consumers related to fraud in 2022 represent $8.8 billion in the United States alone, an increase of 30% compared to the previous year. Losses linked to scams spread by text messages alone represent 330 million dollars, double compared to 2021. And it is not likely to get better! Cybercriminals have in turn used AI to create malicious content that is extremely difficult to detect, making the fight against online fraud much more difficult.
But, sometimes, AI can also become a real ally, like Apate, the chatbot that scams scammers (see our article). Bitdefender, the cybersecurity giant, has opted for prevention with Scamio, a chatbot designed to help users check online scam attempts, whether they come from email, SMS, instant messaging, integrated links and even QR codes, and to protect yourself from them.
Scamio: a chatbot to analyze received messages
“The rapid rise in adoption of AI by cybercriminals to extort money, steal personal information and infiltrate users’ digital lives has truly changed the rules of the game”explains Ciprian Istrate, vice president of operations and consumer solutions at Bitdefender, in a press release. “Online scams, once easy to spot, have become difficult to detect at a glance. Scamio redresses the balance by reliably determining the likelihood of malicious activity occurring based on content and context of a message. It’s a bit like having a personal assistant that you can chat with and that you can always count on to help you protect your digital life.”
Scamio is free and very easy to use. The chatbot is compatible with all devices and operating systems, and it is accessible from a web browser or via Facebook Messenger – support for WhatsApp and Telegram is planned later. Simply create a Bitdefender account to access it, with no need to download or previously access a Bitdefender product. Once you gain access, Scamio works similarly to other AI-powered tools. You interact with the chatbot using an input field. You can write or paste text (chat message, email, etc.), links or images (screenshot, QR code received, etc.) to interact with the AI. It is best to file suspicious content and describe how you received it. Scamio will then check all of this and issue a verdict within seconds, as well as recommendations on actions to take – for example, delete or block a contact – as well as preventative measures to protect you against future scam attempts from the same type. Note that the AI does not specify why it considers this to be a scam or a legitimate link.
To be able to make a judgment, Scamio integrates natural language processing (NLP) to accurately understand and interpret conversations and analyze content. The chatbot also leverages Bitdefender threat protection, prevention and detection technologies to refine its analyses, which are enriched by decrypting the context in which the potentially fraudulent message was received. According to the cybersecurity giant, this approach is extremely effective for complex types of fraud – such as those based on social engineering – that can bypass ordinary detection methods.