Bitdefender Scamio – Scam Detector (REVIEW)
David Novak
Editor in Chief GadgetGram.Com at GadgetGram LLC, Partner at Ascendant Group
With the internet being such an integral part of our lives, online scams are becoming increasingly more common. During the last few years, not only has the number of online scams greatly increased, but the methods used by scammers have also become noticeably more sophisticated. While phishing and online shopping scams are the most common types of online scams, other types of online scams include social media scams, investment scams, cryptocurrency schemes, amongst many others. No matter what type of online scam fraudsters resort to, these scams can result in significant financial losses for victims, as well as emotional distress and other negative consequences. According to a report published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), consumer losses to online fraud in 2022 amounted to approximately $8.8 billion, which equates to a 30 percent increase in comparison to 2021. Regardless of the many types of online scams that exist today, scammers will always have the same goals in mind; to get your personal information, your money, or both. Because how common online scams have become nowadays, it's more important than ever before to have a reliable way to protect yourself against them. This is where the newly released Bitdefender scam detector, called Bitdefender Scamio comes in.
WHAT IS THE BITDEFENDER SCAMIO?
Scamio is a free-to-use next-generation AI-powered scam detection chatbot created and trained by Bitdefender to detect any online scam in seconds by analyzing suspicious links, text messages, emails, images, and even QR codes, for which it combines artificial intelligence with Bitdefender's cutting-edge threat-detection algorithms, machine learning, pattern recognition, and advanced data analysis techniques, making it capable of identifying even the most sophisticated scams. It's easy to use, supports any device or operating system (OS), and is available as a web app trough your preferred browser and also directly thorough Facebook Messenger without requiring download or installation.
This complimentary scam detection service was designed to help users verify fraudulent online schemes delivered through various media formats, allowing you to better protect yourself against potential attempts of online fraud.
HOW DOES THE BITDEFENDER SCAMIO WORK?
For verifying fraudulent online schemes and ultimately detecting online scams, the Bitdefender Scamio analyzes the content present in suspicious links, text messages, emails, images, and QR codes, for which it incorporates leading-edge generative artificial intelligence, consisting of advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) to understand and interpret user conversations (even language nuances and subtleties typically used in scams) accurately.
In addition to its leading-edge AI, Scamio is also powered by Bitdefender's threat protection, prevention and detection technologies, including cutting-edge threat-detection algorithms, machine learning, pattern recognition, and advanced data analysis techniques, which help maximize its scan detection rates layered with innovative context decoding to provide scam verdicts (even for the most sophisticated scams) based on the understanding of particular circumstances. This is highly effective for complex types of fraud like social engineering that may bypass regular forms of detection.
After analyzing the content present in a potentially harmful link, text, email, image, or QR code, this AI-powered scam detection chatbot then breaks down that content into smaller segment in order to identify key elements like sender information, message structure, and language patterns.
That said content is then compared against a set of predefined rules and also to Bitdefender’s huge database of known scams and phishing attempts. If Scamio detects any suspicious elements or finds a match with a known scam, it immediately signals it to protect you from it and prevent you from falling victim to it.
HOW TO USE THE BITDEFENDER SCAMIO?
When it comes to using the Bitdefender Scamio, know that this AI-powered scam detection chatbot is easy and intuitive to use, as it features a simple and straightforward user interface.
Best of all, Scamio is 100% free to use, can be used on any device or operating system (OS), and is available both as a web app trough your preferred browser as well as directly thorough Facebook Messenger, all without requiring a download or an installation.
To have it analyze suspicious content from anything you receive, all you have to do is to create a Bitdefender account.
Once that's done, you just have to start a conversation with Scamio, which you can do either by visiting scamio.bitdefender.com/chat or by chatting directly with Scamio on Facebook Messenger.
After you’re logged in, you can interact with Scamio in three (x3) different ways:
Once you provide the Bitdefender Scamio with the content that you're suspicious of, its system will carefully analyze the material you provided and let you know if it looks safe or if there’s any potential security threat.
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It's worth noting that Scamio can comprehend input in any language, but it responds exclusively in English.
On top of analyzing suspicious content, Scamio can also provide you with recommendations on how to avoid online scams to help you avoid falling victim to fraudulent online schemes and the cybercriminals behind them.
TESTING THE BITFEDENDER SCAMIO
We at GadgetGram also took the opportunity to personally test Scamio’s efficacy at detecting online scams. We ran our test on the latest version of Windows 11 in Firefox.
As mentioned before, Scamio’s user interface was super-intuitive to interact with, for which the chatbot presented us with 3 scam-detection options: Analyze Text, Check a screenshot or image, and Verify a Link.
For our test, we provided the chatbot with the screenshot of an email containing an obvious and well-known example of a tech support scam targeting a user’s personal Microsoft account.
Scamio took no longer than 20 to 30 seconds to analyze the text present in the screenshot we provided, for which it immediately warned us that this particular email indicated a potential tech support scam.
The chatbot then explained what the scam in this email consisted of, noting that it was compromised of a fake alert about a suspicious login attempt and a request to contact a security center or visit a website. This way, Scamio teaches its users about what to avoid in the future.
The chatbot finished its analysis by advising us to never give remote access to our device unless we were certain of the legitimacy behind that particular login-access request.
At the end of its scam analysis, Scamio then offered us 3 options, including Tips to avoid scams, Need more help (returns you to its 3 scam-detection options), and That was all (to finish the interaction with the chatbot).
Selecting its “Tips to avoid scams” option provided us with valuable insight on different ways to be aware of and ultimately avoid potential online scams. This is an especially useful feature to have available for those less tech savvy, as it helps users learn how to better stay safe whenever they’re online.
WHY USE THE BITDEFENDER SCAMIO?
By using the Bitdefender Scamio you can make a change in fighting against online scams. Using this next-generation AI-powered scam detection chatbot doesn't only protect you from potential attempts of online fraud, but it also helps to disrupt and dismantle those fraudulent online schemes, thus putting scammers out of business.
Furthermore, by letting your family and friends know about it, you'll be providing them with a reliable tool that can give them better control of their digital safety.