Artificial Intelligence and scams
Protecting yourself in the digital age
IN line with the 2024 World Consumer Rights Day theme, “Fair and Responsible AI for Consumers”, this article examines the growing issue of AI-powered scams. Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionised many aspects of our lives. Yet, this powerful technology is rapidly becoming a tool for scammers seeking to defraud unsuspecting victims. AI can make scams far more sophisticated and convincing, requiring consumers to be much more vigilant to stay protected.
This article discusses how AI powers modern-day scams, outlines various examples to be aware of, and offer guidance on how to avoid falling victim. What is Artificial Intelligence?
Think of AI as sophisticated computer programs that can mimic human intelligence. They can learn, adapt, analyse data, and make decisions — often far faster and with greater accuracy than humans. This includes tasks like:
❍ Understanding language: AI can process text, translate between languages, and even generate human-sounding conversations.
❍ Creating images and videos: AI algorithms can create realistic images or videos that are nearly impossible to distinguish from the real thing.
❍ Analysing your habits: AI can track your online activity, build a profile of your interests, and predict how you might respond to certain situations.
The power of AI to analyse data, personalise messages, and automate tasks is being harnessed by scammers to create more deceptive and widespread attacks. These are some of the ways in which AI is specifically altering the landscape of scams:
Personalised attacks: AI algorithms analyse individuals’ online data (social media profiles, browsing habits, et cetera) to create highly targeted attacks. These scams look convincingly familiar and relevant to your life.
Realistic impersonation: AI can now convincingly clone voices and generate “deepfake” videos and images to impersonate friends, family, business figures, or government officials.
Scale and automation: AI can automate tasks, letting scammers launch attacks on thousands of people simultaneously.
While AI scams can take various forms, some target consumers more frequently. Here are some common AI-powered scams you should be aware of:
■ Romance scams: AI algorithms can analyse your social media profiles, interests, and online behaviour to create fake profiles that seem like your “perfect” match. These profiles often depict individuals who share your interests, cultural background, or even religious beliefs, building trust and emotional connections quickly. Scammers then use this emotional connection to manipulate victims, often professing undying love and requesting financial assistance for emergencies, travel, or visas to meet in person. These requests can escalate to significant financial losses for the victim.
■ Lottery/sweepstakes scams: AI can target your online activity and tailor “winning” notifications or alerts to your interests. You might receive emails or social media messages congratulating you on winning a local or international lottery/sweepstakes you never entered. These messages often create a sense of urgency by claiming the prize will expire soon and require a small “processing fee” or upfront payment to claim it.
However, there is no real prize, and any money sent will be lost.
■ Tech support scams: Sophisticated AI-powered pop-ups can mimic legitimate warnings from wellknown companies like Microsoft or Apple. These pop-ups might claim to detect viruses or security threats on your device and pressure you to call a fake “support number” for immediate assistance. Once connected, scammers pose as tech support personnel and try to gain remote access to your device, steal personal information, or pressure you into paying for unnecessary software or services.
Phishing scams: AI can generate highly convincing phishing emails and text messages (smishing) that appear to be from legitimate companies, banks, or even government agencies. These messages often contain a sense of urgency or try to exploit fear tactics, urging you to click on a malicious link or download an attachment. Clicking these links can lead to fake websites designed to steal your personal information like login credentials and credit card details.
■ Cryptocurrency scams: AI can create fake investment opportunities or celebrity endorsements promoting high-yield cryptocurrency schemes. These scams often exploit the fast-paced and unregulated nature of cryptocurrency to lure victims into investing in non-existent or fraudulent projects. They might also use urgent warnings about “limited spots” or “expiring promotions” to pressure you into making quick investment decisions without proper research, leading to significant financial losses.
Protecting yourself from AI scams
The ever-evolving nature of AI scams requires constant vigilance and proactive measures. Here are crucial steps you can take to protect yourself: ■ Be sceptical:
Question any offer or message that seems “too good to be true.”
Scammers often exploit people’s desire for quick gains, love, or easy solutions. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Be wary of unsolicited offers, unexpected winnings, or urgent requests for financial assistance. ■ Verify independently:
If you receive a message claiming to be from a company, bank, or government agency, contact them directly using a trusted phone number or website.
Do not click on any links or reply to the suspicious message itself, as it could lead you to a phishing website.
■ Scrutinise for errors:
AI-generated content might have subtle inconsistencies.
While AI is becoming increasingly sophisticated, there can still be grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, or awkward phrasing in emails, messages, or website content.
Pay close attention to the language used and be cautious if something seems off.
■ Watch out for deepfakes:
Do not solely rely on video or audio evidence for identification.
Deepfakes are realistic-looking videos or audio recordings that have been manipulated to make it appear as if someone is saying or doing something they never did.
If you receive a video or audio message from someone you know, be cautious and try to verify its authenticity through other means, like calling them directly.
■ Safeguard your information:
Be mindful of the websites you share your personal information with.
Do not provide sensitive information like passwords, credit card details, or social security numbers unless you are absolutely certain the platform is legitimate.
Consider using strong and unique passwords for different online accounts and enable two-factor authentication whenever possible.
■ Keep software updated:
Ensure your devices and software are always updated with the latest security patches.
These updates often contain critical fixes for vulnerabilities that scammers might try to exploit.
Enable automatic updates whenever possible to stay protected against the latest threats.
■ Report Scams:
Reporting scams is crucial to raise awareness and protect others.
If you encounter a scam attempt, report it to the relevant authorities, such as the Consumer Council of Fiji via the toll-free number 155 or the Fiji Police Force.
Reporting also helps track scam trends and enables authorities to take action against scammers.
Remember: Don’t be embarrassed if you’ve been targeted by a scam. Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and anyone can fall victim. The most important thing is to report the incident and take steps to protect yourself from future attempts.