At its best, artificial intelligence makes our lives better. Unfortunately, it’s also used for nefarious purposes. The FBI says AI is supercharging fraud, making scams harder to spot and costing you big. Lisa Fletcher follows the trail.

The following is a transcript of a report from “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.”
Watch the video by clicking the link at the end of the page.

Susan Limb makes her living selling sweet treats at her bakery and bistro in Bethesda, Maryland. But one phone call delivered something far less palatable.

Susan Limb: I fell for it hook, line and sinker.

Limb says she thought she was talking to her bank. Instead, she was talking to a thief who she believes used AI to alter his voice and spoof the bank’s phone number to gain her trust, ultimately accessing her account, stealing nearly $30,000.00. The FBI says scams like this are becoming more sophisticated, in part, because of artificial intelligence.

Matt O’Neill, a former Secret Service cybercrime investigator, says AI is making it easier than ever for scammers to impersonate people.

Matt O’Neill: You can’t rely on any sort of live video stream because of their ability to use very cheap software in order to change the voice of whoever they want to be.

Susan Limb: Most of the time the people who call for fraud, they have foreign accents. This guy had perfect English.

The scammer drained the account she uses to pay employees.

Lisa Fletcher: Did you ever think while you were talking to this person allegedly from the bank, maybe AI is tricking me right now?

Susan Limb: At the time I wasn’t really thinking about AI. But now I think about it, I realize AI must have played a role in it.

According to the FBI, Americans filed more than 22-thousand complaints involving AI-enabled fraud last year, reporting nearly 900-million in losses.

And it’s not just happening to other people.

Our own producer recently thought his local bank branch was calling. Suspicious, he let the call go to voicemail.

What happened next offered a rare glimpse into how modern AI scammers operate.

Unaware he was being recorded, the man explained his techniques to another person on the call, using fraud slang like “accent” for AI voice alteration, “Zoax hand” for a script used to fool victims, and “racks,” with each rack meaning $1,000.00.

Scammer: When I do my accent, nobody give me problems. I got my little Zoax hand. I been here. I made it, I mean like five racks on like two weeks ago. And it was a, a Chinese lady.

Second Voice: Yeah.

Scammer: Because I hit it with that Haitian accent.

Exactly the kind of technology cybercrime experts like Matt O’Neill say is making today’s scams far more difficult to spot.

Matt O’Neill: Unfortunately, everybody has to be a detective these days. We’re dealing with organized transnational criminal groups that are financially motivated all around the world.

For Limb, the frustration didn’t end with the theft.

Susan Limb: The bank’s like, ‘Oh, it looks like the investigators saying that there will be no reissue or credit back because it was due to account holders negligence.”

O’Neill says victims often end up absorbing the losses themselves.

Lisa Fletcher: Are the banks working together, to try to deal with these crimes?

Matt O’Neill: They’re not sharing information in any meaningful way because they’re not incentivized to do so.

Limb says the FBI collected her information but told her they couldn’t do anything because her loss was less than a million dollars.

Susan Limb: They know that they’re not going to get prosecuted. They know that, it’s kind of like the catch me if you can.

In a world where AI can make almost anything sound real, investigators say slowing down may be the most important protection left. For Full Measure, I’m Lisa Fletcher.

Watch the video here.

The post (WATCH) AI Scams appeared first on Sharyl Attkisson.

 

IPAK-EDU is grateful to Sharyl Attkisson as this piece was originally published there and is included in this news feed with mutual agreement. Read More