The Rise of AI-Powered Scams and How to Spot Them
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has advanced exponentially in recent years, becoming a tool that grants instant access to knowledge and responses, as well as creating entirely computer-generated images, videos, and audio. This content has evolved from obviously false material to highly convincing videos, images, and audio that have been used to spread fake news or defraud unsuspecting individuals.
Prominent Figures Targeted by AI-Generated Scams
Among the scams enabled by this technology are the production of videos featuring personalities inviting users to invest or purchase a product. Recently, Arturo Elías Ayub debunked his involvement with such a scheme, and there have been viral videos of presenter Adela Micha and even President Claudia Sheinbaum. For audio scams, criminals use AI to create conversations impersonating a family member, bank representative, or authority figure.
Deepfakes: The Realistic Deception
These scams, known as deepfakes, involve highly realistic materials with advanced graphics that appear genuine at first glance. Jhenner Trigueros, an AI software engineer at Platzi, explains that as technology advances, detecting these materials becomes more challenging and can be created using various platforms.
- AI models capable of generating audio from text: 3,067
- AI models capable of generating video from text: 546
Deepfakes are typically spread through promotional videos on social media and calls or voice messages for audio scams.
Identifying False Content
Given the near-perfect realism of these audio and video scams, identifying fraud can be complex. However, focusing on details can help determine if you’re being targeted by cybercriminals.
- In videos, common flaws include the number of fingers shown, unnatural arm movements, eye, and lip movements, as well as lighting errors.
- Pay attention to lip coordination with the audio and focus on the vocabulary used. Consider whether this reflects the person’s usual speaking style.
Identifying AI-generated audio is more challenging. Pay attention to tone, emotion, pronunciation, and the coherence of what’s being said. The audio quality can also reveal fraudsters.
If You’ve Been Deceived
If you’ve fallen victim to cybercriminals, experts recommend first determining if privacy, banking data, or money was compromised. Immediately contact your bank and change account passwords and access data if necessary.
Also, report the fraud to cyber authorities for guidance on appropriate actions.
Key Questions and Answers
- What are AI-generated scams? These scams, known as deepfakes, involve highly realistic videos, images, or audio created using AI technology.
- How can I identify deepfakes? Look for unnatural details such as finger count, arm movements, eye and lip inconsistencies, and lighting errors in videos. For audio, focus on tone, emotion, pronunciation, and coherence.
- What should I do if I’ve been scammed? Contact your bank, change account passwords, and report the fraud to cyber authorities for guidance.
