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Financial scams are an unfortunate reality in today’s world. Fraudsters are constantly looking for ways to get you to part with your hard-earned cash. The sudden boom of communications technology and widespread Internet adoption in the 1990s and 2000s created avenues for scams that we deal with today. Phishing and its various forms, debit credit card fraud and identity theft have become a part of daily life as we navigate the intersection of personal finance and technology.
With the rise of artificial intelligence applications (AI), a new wave of financial scams is headed our way. Let’s look at two new AI scams that others have encountered and what to do if you think you may be the recipient of an AI scam.
Two New AI Scams to Look Out For
AI Voice Scams or Vocal Cloning
While robocall scams, also known as “vishing,” have been a common tactic for criminals in the last decade, vocal cloning is an update to this audio attack. Instead of using an automated message of a generic voice to pose as a trustworthy institution, like your bank or credit card company, scammers can use a short audio clip from a loved one’s social media profile and an artificial intelligence program to mimic that person’s voice.
These AI voice scams can be particularly unsettling as they sound eerily similar to your loved ones over the phone. The most common tactic experts have identified is that the scammer will claim to be in an emergency scenario, like a car wreck or arrest, and say they need money quickly.
Video Deepfake Scams
Deepfake technology is similar to vocal cloning in that it is used to manipulate a person’s appearance or voice to misrepresent them. You may have seen videos of celebrities or political figures saying things that don’t align with your usual expectations of them on social media. This is an example of a deepfake video at work.
Not only have fraudsters used this technology to spread misinformation through social media, but they have also used it to scam individuals and businesses financially. A recent video deepfake was used to defraud a company of millions of dollars when the scammer posed as the chief financial officer and asked an employee to wire company funds to another account over a video call.
Outside of the corporate world, deepfakes have been used to impersonate bank officials and romantic partners to scam unsuspecting individuals out of their hard-earned cash via video calls.
Five Ways to Avoid AI Scams
While artificial intelligence scams can be scary, it’s important to remember that the end goal is usually the same as other scams we have seen: Create urgency in the victim for a quick transaction through untraceable means. You can stay sharp by following these five tips when encountering one of these scams.
- Take a deep breath. Scammers want to pull you away from your rational thinking by putting you in a high-stress scenario. This helps build urgency to make you give them what they want without taking the time to think it through. If you receive a distressing phone or video call from an unknown number, take a deep breath before you engage with the caller.
- Hang up the phone and call back. With vocal cloning and video deepfakes, you will most likely receive calls from random or unknown numbers. Scammers posing as your loved one will say that they lost their phone or it was destroyed in the accident. If you don’t know the number, hang up and call your loved one at their phone number to verify the story.
- Share emergency code words with loved ones. Using an emergency code word with your close friends or family is an easy way to stump scammers and verify you are talking with your actual loved one.
- Never offer gift cards, wire money or pay someone with a cryptocurrency. These transactions are difficult to trace and recover money, so they are ideal for scammers. If anyone asks you for these over the phone, hang up immediately.
- Check your online bank account for potential fraudulent charges. Finally, if you are ever worried that your debit card or bank account information has been compromised due to an AI scam, visit your bank account online to check for unauthorized charges.
Find a Financial Institution That Values Your Financial Safety
Don’t let financial scams keep you from reaching your financial goals. The team at Community Point Bank takes your account security seriously. We work hard to monitor and identify any abnormal or fraudulent transactions to stop scams in their tracks. If you’re ready to bank with a financial institution that wants to keep your money safe, visit a Community Point Bank location today.
