You Have a Problem — and AI Is Against You
Fraud is all around us and it is becoming more sophisticated. Thanks to AI, too. But many scams still benefit from old, familiar truths.
One of them is the tendency of people to believe others or show sympathy. The mediator has long been “flash drives”. They have become one of the most widely used media that people use to transfer data and files. Although cloud storage often plays a leading role, this is not always the case. Therefore, it is worth warning you about portable media. They play a crucial part in one of the scams — social engineering.
In the last article, we looked at the positive side of artificial intelligence. Today we will continue in the dark corners of scams that exist thanks to AI. And we will go beyond social engineering, into the corners of vishing, deepfakes and other traps that lie in waiting for us in the online world. Buckle up!
AI Scam Types 🤖💸
Pig Butchering
This scam is very tricky for the reasons we mentioned in the introduction — it plays with human emotions. The point is that the scammer builds a long-term relationship with his victim before he proceeds to complete his scam and make the victim invest in a non-existent project.
The environments in which these scams develop the most are social networks and dating sites. This is because they provide an ideal space where you can cultivate social contact that develops into very close relationships.
In addition, these sites use another basic element that is important for scammers. Providers use technologies for analyzing personal preferences. In addition, many people voluntarily “sprinkle” information on themselves on these sites, so all it takes is a little time and attention and attackers can choose their perfect victim.
Protection: It's important to think and always do your research. As soon as someone asks you for an investment, immediately wave the red flag and stop.
Vishing
Now we come to voice fraud. The first type is vishing, which uses artificial intelligence to imitate the voices of people we would normally trust. The voices of bank operators are most often imitated. For this reason, the goal of fraudsters is to obtain sensitive information. It can be login details or financial information.
Security: It's nobody's business what your login details are. Never, ever, ever give them to anyone. Ideally, don't use the same passwords for your user accounts — anywhere.
Identity Theft Using a Synthetic Voice
This voice scam is perhaps even more insidious. The page turns and the scammers use your voice to communicate with your bank, for example, to verify your identity in order to get your information.
But it can also happen that the attackers fake your kidnapping and use an artificially created voice to demand a ransom from your relatives.
Protection: If you receive a ransom demand or other immediate request from a family member or someone you know, hang up and call them back. Scammers can impersonate another phone number, but they cannot receive calls to that number. Also, contact the police immediately.
Deepfakes
This is one of the older scams that attack people online. But AI allows video attacks to be even more believable. A deepfake can be an image or video of a person who never actually made such a video.
It captures their voice and, most importantly, the thoughts and information that the scammer wants to convey to their victims. This is a very dangerous tool that people abuse for the most humiliating purposes. It is a tool for bullying that even leads to death.
We may know them more as tools of political propaganda, but much more often, deepfake videos are associated with synthetic pornography — material that the person never lent themselves to, but thanks to their image, they suddenly become a porn star.
Protection: If you are being abused for deepfakes or know someone who has been, immediately report the issue to the police. Moreover, such a person needs help to bear the weight of such abuse.
Social Engineering
We have already touched on the long-standing problem associated with social engineering. In various forms, it is dedicated to illegally collecting information about victims. This information is then misused, either directly by the attacker or is offered for sale.
Ochrana: Nikdy nesdílejte žádné své informace. Žádný člověk na ně nemá právo a pokud je nějaký problém, nikdy nemusí být vyřešený v daném okamžiku. Pokud cítíte nátlak udělat něco okamžitě, nikdy to okamžitě nedělejte.
Ransomware Using Verified Applications
In general, we can say that this is any malware that gets onto your device thanks to components of systems that are completely fine. Sometimes they are even parts of the operating system itself.
Thanks to the fact that the applications themselves are actually fine, scammers can operate unnoticed. But the consequences are then very noticeable. According to Sophos, this type of attack is on the rise, and the use of ransomware itself is also on the rise.
It can be used multiple times. Not only will you be faced with the need to pay a ransom but the attacker may also want to pay for not publishing your information for sale. And on top of that, he can have you in his sights forever.
Protection: Verify the sources of links and applications you are about to open. If you are in a business, pay attention to employee education and cybersecurity protection measures.
How to Protect the Community? 🧑🤝🧑🛡️
We also talked about steps that can better equip you to avoid scams and fraud. But the education doesn’t end there, because today each of us has a responsibility to educate our loved ones. So what lessons should we pass on to them?
Stay Calm
Although our natural response to stress is to panic, it is important to remain calm if you find yourself in the clutches of scammers. There are always ways to find out if the threat you are facing is real.
Is it really your bank calling you? Call their hotline to verify. Is it really the police calling you? Check with the police. If anyone makes a claim or asks you for sensitive information, check and consult with them. Don’t be left alone in situations.
Stay Careful
Scammers like to use pressure or a sense of urgency. Don’t get carried away by emotions. Find out what manipulation techniques are common. You can always take as much time as you want to make your decision.
Ask About Everything
There is no charge for questions. If you have a strange feeling about a conversation, ask. Question the legitimacy and terms. Does a picture feel weird? Use a fake image analysis tool. Don’t know who called you? Search the number on Google. You have the right to investigate in depth and detail.
Final Thoughts ✍️✅
Don’t forget to educate those around you who are most vulnerable to becoming victims of scams. This could be the elderly, children and young people, or those who are less tech-savvy or less familiar with the modern internet.
The key to ensuring that none of us fall victim to scams is education, continuous education. Scammers learn very quickly, so we must too. Whether we are employers, employees or just someone using a mobile device. Each of us is responsible for our own safety. So don’t be afraid to ask for help.
