Artificial intelligence has also brought with it a series of sophisticated new scams.
AI has been on the rise for several months. Whether it is the famous ChatGPT which allows us to answer questions or MidJourney which allows us to completely generate images, artificial intelligence is rapidly spreading in our uses.
Today, it is quite easy to create all kinds of fake news using artificial intelligence. We can no longer count the number of images fabricated and distributed on Facebook to make people believe in a situation that never happened. Unfortunately, many people fall for this and can’t tell the difference between a real photo and an AI-generated image. Artificial intelligence has therefore given ideas to hackers and malicious people to create a whole new online scam. The latter is extremely well thought out and difficult to understand for some victims since it allows you to imitate the voice of your loved ones!
The process is simple: the hackers will first record your voice by recovering it via different processes (your videos posted online, your audios available on the internet, etc…). The more extracts they collect, the more elaborate the scam will be. Once enough audio samples are in their possession, the hackers use software online or that they have developed themselves to extract the particularities of your voice. This then allows them to type any text for the AI to read by imitating your voice!
The rest of the scam is quite simple. Once they have your voice, the hackers will try to contact someone close to you. Family or friend, they manage to retrieve the number of their potential victim to make a phone call. From there, all they have to do is pretend they have a new cell phone to call someone you know and ask for money. The victim, convinced that he is currently on the phone with you, will not ask questions and make the requested transfers.
The international association “Better Business Bureau” (or BBB) has notably given several warnings against this new scam which is developing rapidly and is already causing trouble within many families. The association reminds that you should never send money urgently and that it is better to try to call the person in question at their usual number to ensure that they have indeed lost their old phone like she claims it. Also, do not hesitate to call the entourage of the person who is trying to contact you to find out about their emergency situation.