AI Everywhere + Bad Actors = More Scams

A Canadian couple were scammed out of $21,000 when someone pretending to be their son's lawyer called and requested money for his legal fees. The caller used an AI-generated voice that sounded like the son to convince the parents to send the money through Bitcoin.

The rise of more powerful #AI tools has led to a rise in scams involving people impersonating others. The Federal Trade Commission reported that imposter scams were the most commonly reported scam last year, with $8.8 billion reported lost across 36,00 incidents.

Here’s the danger: If there are recordings of you speaking online, it’s trivial to clone your voice using free AI web services.
If you’re familiar with the deepfake technology used to mimic celebrities, this tale will feel hauntingly familiar. With only seconds of a target’s recorded voice, these criminals can leverage machine learning to craft conversations about anything.

If you have vulnerable family members who have been confused or tricked by similar calls/scams, remind them to double-check the real identity of any callers. If it's an inbound call, ensure the caller-ID matches, and if it seems fishy, suggest they call back using a known phone number.