The rising popularity of Artificial intelligence (AI) has many benefits but there are downsides too – one of those being AI scams. Scammers are using AI to make their schemes more believable. Here are six AI scams to watch out for and how to protect yourself from them.
6 types of AI scams
1. Voice Cloning: Scammers can take short clips of someone (Anyone! Celebrities, loved ones, etc.) speaking, then clone their voice and use it to convey whatever message they want. Just because you have a voicemail from a familiar sounding voice doesn’t mean it’s authentic.
2. Deepfake Videos: “Deepfake” is one step above voice cloning – it combines both image and voice. This technology creates realistic looking videos of completely fake people or simulated real people. These can be very convincing! Deepfake is also used in romance scams as an attempt to prove to their victim they are real.
3. Fake AI Images: From fake ads to explicit image blackmail, AI-generated photos are being used to manipulate and extort victims. These images are often posted on social media in comment sections and link out to scam websites.
4. AI-Generated Websites: Scammers will often try to get you to visit scam websites via links. Many of these websites are enhanced with AI to look realistic, convincing, and legitimate. AI-generated websites may feature deals that are too good to be true or use other bait-and-hook tactics to lure you into shelling out your money.
5. AI-Written Phishing Emails: Broken grammar, typos and obvious red flags are no longer surefire ways to sniff out a phishing email. With AI, scammers can clean up their messages to be grammatically correct, convincing, and even personalized to the victim they’re targeting.
6. Fake Listings: AI helps scammers write and design fraudulent listings for products, marketplace items, homes, rentals, and more. Despite looking scarily realistic, these items or properties do not exist. They’re designed to entice you and eventually get you to hand over payment information.
How to protect yourself
● Avoid clicking unknown links.
● Be skeptical of pressure tactics. If someone pushes you to act fast, take a beat.
● Verify independently. If you get a suspicious message from a “friend” or company, reach out directly using a trusted contact method.
● Use secure payment methods like credit cards when possible as they offer fraud protection and charges can be reversed.
● Create a family code word. This is a simple way to verify identities in situations where scammers may be impersonating loved ones.
● Use strong, unique passwords and turn on multi-factor authentication.
● Stay alert. If you think you’ve been scammed, act fast.
AI might make scams look more convincing, but your best defense still involves staying in the loop about scams, being alert, using good judgement, and relying on trusted resources – like your friends here at Guthrie County State Bank!