FraudGPT : How AI is Amplifying Financial Fraud

The advent of generative AI has equipped fraudsters with a robust arsenal of tools, ranging from eloquently crafted scam messages to voice cloning and face superimposition on videos. The elderly population is frequently the victim of such frauds. However, the rise in technological deception necessitates everyone to be cautious of incoming calls, particularly those appearing to come from familiar numbers like a neighbor's.

The increasing trend of spoofing in robocalls is making it more challenging to trust incoming calls. Our emails and text messages are no longer secure, leaving us isolated from our routine communication methods.

While new technology always brings a mix of benefits and drawbacks, the potential problems posed by artificial intelligence (AI) could be unprecedented. We might be on the brink of opening a Pandora's box of issues unlike anything we've encountered before.

The technology has already found its way into the hands of cybercriminals, who are leveraging it to deceitfully extract money from people. The sophistication of these methods is escalating, making them harder to identify.

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Here are some of the ways AI is being exploited and steps you can take to safeguard your finances.

"Voice cloning" technology exploited in telephone scams:

With just a brief audio clip and some readily available software, it's now feasible to replicate an individual's voice and make it utter any desired phrase. Fraudsters have seized this chance, employing AI-synthesized voices to mimic victims' relatives and leave urgent money pleas to resolve a supposed crisis.

The intricacy of these frauds can be alarmingly hard to detect. A global survey by McAfee revealed that 70% of participants struggled to differentiate between a counterfeit voice and the genuine person. Small and big businesses with informal processes for making payments or transferring funds are becoming easy targets for these criminals.

Fraudsters have long been known to send counterfeit invoices requesting payment. Now, with AI tools, they can impersonate an executive's voice to authorize transactions or ask employees to reveal sensitive information in voice phishing attacks.

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Malicious individuals are using generative AI to enhance their credibility

Wrongdoers now have the ability to use language models like ChatGPT to refine the messages they send to targets. The usual red flags — such as typos and punctuation errors — can be corrected, making the messages appear more realistic and potentially more convincing.

Romance scams are also likely to rise. With AI, a fraudster can create unique images for dating profiles and social media, potentially gaining someone's attention and trust more easily. Once the victim is engrossed in the 'relationship,' the scammers start asking for money, gifts, and banking information. They might even manipulate the victim into performing tasks that are essentially money laundering.

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Deepfake video technology can even be used to recreate the images of famous individuals without their consent. Image of an CEO or famous person can be digitally duplicated and used to endorse an investments.

Methods to safeguard your finances

Many scams are successful because they manage to induce an intense emotional reaction in their victims. Scammers believe that the more emotionally aroused people are, the less cautious they'll be with their money.

Thankfully, several standard financial protection methods still work:

• Be suspicious of messages designed to incite urgency. Maintain composure and try to verify the source of the message.
• Treat any messages from your bank asking for login details or other personal information with skepticism.
• Scammers often demand payment through methods that are hard to trace and from which money is difficult to retrieve, such as gift cards and cryptocurrency. Be wary of any mention of these.
• If you haven't already, set up multi-factor authentication.
• Be careful when discussing your finances on the call, even if you think you're talking to a family member. If you become suspicious at any point, pause the call and contact them directly.

In 2022, Australians lost a record $3.1 billion to scams, and this amount is set to rise as the use of AI becomes more prevalent. Anyone can be targeted by scammers, regardless of their tech-savviness, but being aware of this new type of scam can make a significant difference.

It is crucial to trust brokers like Finveo, who demonstrate trustworthiness through a proven track record, robust security infrastructure, and a commitment to transparency. In an era where AI-enabled scams are on the rise, such companies play a crucial role in protecting users from financial fraud, ensuring a secure and reliable trading environment.