Scammers armed with increasingly advanced AI are no longer faceless strangers. They mimic the voices and personas of our closest loved ones, exploiting one’s trust with alarming ease.
Here are some tips on how to reduce your risk of falling victim to a potential scammer utilizing Artificial Intelligence.
1. Be Wary of Urgent Requests
Scammers tend to create a sense of urgency when targeting their victims. If you feel someone on the phone is making an urgent request for money, think twice and assess the situation. Often, scammers will use AI to impersonate the voice of a loved one, stating they are being held for ransom; before taking any action, make sure to reach out to the person directly through a trusted phone number. Another alternative, if you don’t want to lose the phone call, is to ask personal questions to which only the real person would know the answer.
2. Protect Your Information
Be mindful of the personal information you share on social media, given that scammers can easily take this information and use it to their advantage when creating an AI persona, making it more challenging to decipher whether the person is real. Also, limit sharing videos or audio with you or a loved one’s voice, as it can be taken as a voice sample input into AI, which can then be utilized to impersonate you or a loved one.
Never input personal or financial data into AI platforms. This information is stored and utilized within their databases, increasing your vulnerability to targeted scams and identity theft.
3. Stay Informed
In this new age of AI, scammers are becoming increasingly advanced. Make sure to stay informed of the latest scam tactics and share this information with your family and friends, especially those you feel are more vulnerable to these types of attacks.
Technology will continue to advance, and scammers will evolve along with it, staying vigilant by taking proactive measures that could help keep you safe. Stay Cautious! Stay Informed!
Author: Maria Roque
