Artificial intelligence is currently on everyone’s lips, due to its promising possibilities, but also because of the supposed risks it entails. Great technology magnates such as Bill Gates or Elon Musk have warned about this. But sometimes it is not even necessary to go to dark post-apocalyptic scenarios to assume that, indeed, AI can become a danger.
We are talking about something much more mundane: scams. Just as technology can be used to improve the quality of life, it can be used for evil. And cybercriminals have once again shown that they have no scruples when it comes to appropriating it. This shows it the telephone scam that uses artificial intelligence to keep your money.
Beware of the new artificial intelligence scam
getty
Any technological advance serves to cheat and commit crimes and deception. We have seen it on WhatsApp, in typical SMS messages or on the vast majority of social networks. During Christmas, in fact, this problem tends to be accentuated and seems to inspire scammers. Artificial intelligence, unfortunately, is no exception.
The key this time lies in voice spoofing itself, a new technology that uses artificial intelligence to clone anyone’s way of speakingand that only needs a few seconds of recording to generate replicas that are different from the originals.
Through Eleven Labs, a company based in the United States that develops this technology, Criminals use the voice of a friend or family member to essentially impersonate them by making phone calls to victims.. Usually, they ask for money in their name under the pretext of some urgent unforeseen event for which they need you to lend them money.
Since the deception is so convincing, authorities have already confirmed that cases of this sophisticated type of phishing are the order of the day, and it has become a risk to which anyone can be exposed.
how to avoid this telephone scam?
No matter how much the European Union is working on a new law to regulate artificial intelligence, there are crimes that will hardly be able to be stopped, at least overnight.
The best way to avoid them lies precisely in distrust. Due to new technologies, one cannot believe everything one sees, nor what one hears.
For that very reason, Experts recommend always verifying the identity of the person you supposedly know when they behave strangely or make unexpected requests., such as asking for money or requesting some of our personal information. For example, asking details that only they would know.
If, in addition, you have the opportunity to talk to this person in a way other than by phone, even better, especially face to face. If you discover that it is a scam, it is advisable to report it. In the end, no matter how inelegant it may be, there is no choice but to be cautious and be aware that, in effect, new technologies sometimes make us more vulnerable.
