Is your business ready to fight against advanced AI scams targeting your customers?

Chatbots or voice assistants use language models to replicate the person's tone and mannerisms, making it difficult to distinguish between the real person and the AI-powered imposter. In this piece, SME10x explores the different types of AI scams, as well as real-life stories of how these scams have been used. We also share tips to help you protect your business from these emerging threats.

AI scams typically involve an AI-powered chatbot or voice assistant designed to impersonate. The chatbot or voice assistant uses language models to replicate the person's tone and mannerisms, making distinguishing between the person and the AI-powered imposter difficult.

Here we explore the different types of AI scams and share a few tips to help you protect your business from these emerging threats.

Voice Cloning

Voice cloning is one of the most widely used AI-driven scams. With AI-powered voice cloning technology, con artists can produce convincing audio recordings of people we know and trust. Scammers can place calls or leave voicemails that sound like they are coming from friends, relatives, or coworkers using these voice clones, which can have disastrous results when unwary victims accede to the con artist's demands.

Scammers frequently obtain voice samples using various techniques, such as gathering publicly accessible audio or even deceiving the target into giving voice samples over the phone. The target's voice is then analysed and replicated using specialist AI software, enabling them to produce accurate voice clones.

In one terrifying instance, a scammer called a man's grandparents, pretending to be him using voice cloning technology produced by AI. According to the con artist, the man was in a car accident and needed money. Fortunately, they checked with the man's father to ensure everything was okay before sending any money, saving them from almost taking out a second mortgage.

Another scam involved impersonating the CEO of a UK-based energy company using AI voice cloning technology to trick a senior executive into sending €220,000 to a fake account. The executive thought he was chatting with the actual CEO due to how realistic the AI-generated voice was.

Deepfakes

Deepfakes are AI-manipulated films or audio recordings that give the impression that someone is talking or doing something they have never said or done. Con artists can use deepfakes to propagate false information or sway public opinion.

Scammers produce deepfakes by training AI algorithms on massive datasets of the target person's pictures or videos. The deepfake will be more convincing the more data the computer has to work with.

Widespread instances have been a deepfake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, released in March 2022, and a deepfake video of Elon Musk, published in April 2022. Although both videos were quickly identified as fakes, they generated controversy and were circulated extensively on social media.

Phishing Emails

Fraudsters are developing phishing emails using AI, making phishing emails from actual firms look more authentic. Scammers frequently employ AI to study extensive collections of trustworthy emails and understand their linguistic characteristics. As a result, they can produce convincing phishing emails that closely mimic actual correspondence.

For instance, a phishing email campaign targeted Department of Defense employees in the United States in January 2023. Employees were encouraged to click on a link in emails purporting to be from a legitimate government organisation to update their personal information. In reality, the association took viewers to a fraudulent website infected with malware stealing critical login information.

As AI technology continues to develop, scammers will find new and creative ways to use it to exploit people. It’s essential to know these trends and how to avoid being scammed. To protect yourself, here's what you can do:

Educate employees about AI scams: SMEs should train their employees to recognise the signs of AI scams, such as unusual requests for money or sensitive information, and to verify the identity of the person making the request.
Implement multi-factor authentication: SMEs should require multi-factor authentication for all financial transactions, such as wire transfers or online payments, making it difficult for scammers to impersonate executives or employees and carry out fraudulent transactions.
Use AI-powered cybersecurity tools: SMEs can use AI-powered cybersecurity tools to detect and prevent AI scams. These tools use machine learning algorithms to analyse patterns and detect anomalies that may indicate fraud.
Monitor online activity: SMEs should regularly monitor and be vigilant for any unusual or suspicious activity, such as unauthorised logins or attempts to access sensitive information.
Implement a cybersecurity policy: SMEs should develop a comprehensive cybersecurity policy outlining best practices for protecting against AI scams and other cybersecurity threats. It's essential that this policy is updated regularly and is well-communicated to all employees.

AI is a potent instrument that can be utilized for good or bad. It is critical to be aware of the possible risks posed by AI and to take precautions to avoid falling victim to fraud. You may protect yourself from AI scams by keeping in mind the some of the advice we’ve shared.