Scams using AI technology: Identify these 4 tricks early to avoid losing money and revealing your identity.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the internet in unprecedented ways, but alongside its benefits come increasingly sophisticated scams. From fake emails and voice cloning to deepfake videos, AI is being exploited to deceive users at an alarming rate.
Whether ready or not, generative artificial intelligence (AI) is spreading at a breakneck pace across the internet. Major technology corporations are constantly releasing AI-based tools and virtual assistants, with many chatbots even being considered superior to existing popular platforms.
However, a worrying downside is that these technologies are also quickly falling into the wrong hands. Scammers have exploited AI extensively, not only "upgrading" familiar online scams but also escalating identity theft to a more sophisticated and dangerous level than ever before.
The prospect of scammers using AI to create near-perfect replicas of you or your loved ones, or personalizing scam scenarios to match each victim's preferences and habits, is truly chilling for many.
However, just like traditional scams, AI-powered tricks still leave traces. AI is powerful, but not invincible. When users understand the signs of suspicious activity and maintain basic safety principles, even the most sophisticated scams have little chance of stealing money or identity.
1. Identity fraud via email
Email phishing is a familiar threat, but when equipped with artificial intelligence, its danger level increases significantly. Instead of emails full of spelling errors or clumsy content like before, fraudsters can now create fake emails that are almost identical to official notifications from banks, e-commerce platforms, or social networks.
By "training" AI with a series of press releases, customer service emails, and public communications from major brands, scammers can easily create messages with a very persuasive tone, structure, and word choice. Recipients only need to carelessly click on a fake link and enter their login information to potentially lose their account or money in an instant.
Ways to protect yourself:
- Compare the suspicious email with previous emails you've received from the same brand.
- Carefully check the sender's address; even a single character difference can be a sign of danger.
- Do not click on links or download attachments from emails that have not been requested.
2. Targeted scams and identity fabrication.
Beyond mass fraud, AI is enabling scammers to personalize their tactics at a very deep level. With targeted phishing, publicly available information on social media, such as your interests, occupation, friends, or shopping habits, can be aggregated by AI to create messages that "hit the mark."
Meanwhile, scams involving the creation of fake identities (catfishing) to approach and extort money, often seen in romance scams, have become even more dangerous thanks to AI. Scammers can create a "virtual persona" with interests, opinions, and conversational styles that are almost identical to yours, making it difficult for the victim to suspect anything.
Even more dangerously, AI could be used to create clones of your identity, thereby approaching friends or relatives to borrow money or request emergency transfers.
Ways to protect yourself:
- Always be wary of strangers who proactively send private messages.
- Cut off contact immediately if the other person mentions money, investments, or cryptocurrency.
- Establish a second channel of communication so that friends and family can verify the information if they have any doubts.
3. Voice cloning scam
One of the oldest phone scams involves calling the victim and vaguely saying, "It's me," waiting for the other person to identify as an acquaintance. Previously, a distinctive voice was a weakness that made this scam easy to detect. But with AI, that weakness is gradually disappearing.
With just a few voice recordings from social media videos, AI can analyze and create a fairly convincing voice copy, from tone to manner of speaking. These copies have been used to scam money from relatives, and even to stage fake kidnappings for ransom.
Ways to protect yourself:
- Always call back a different number when you receive a suspicious emergency call.
- Ask private questions that only you and the real person know, not publicly on the internet.
If the other person avoids the topic, loses their temper, or tries to pressure you, hang up immediately.
4. Scamming by creating fake videos
Beyond just voice recognition, AI is also capable of creating highly realistic deepfakes. Scammers often target celebrities, businesspeople, or individuals with a large public following to create fake clips, which they then use as bait for gifts, investments, or private messages.
There have been cases where victims were deceived simply because they believed they were participating in an online meeting with high-ranking officials, only to find out it was all a deepfake. In the future, this risk could spread to ordinary individuals if they share too many personal videos.
Ways to protect yourself:
- Don't trust videos from unofficial accounts, even if the images look very much like real people.
- Be wary of unsolicited direct contact.
- If you're making a video call to verify, ask the other person to turn their head, raise their hand, or perform a complex gesture, as deepfakes often reveal themselves in these details.
In short, AI is not the enemy, but in the wrong hands, it becomes an extremely dangerous tool for fraud. Early detection of unusual signs, limiting the sharing of personal information, and always having independent verification methods are the most effective "shields" to protect your money and identity in the AI era.
