Don't trust anyone you see.
Image credit: Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock
While the world is talking about the dangers of unregulated AI, criminals use it to steal millions of dollars in increasingly creative ways.
One day, a finance worker at a multinational company received a message supposedly from its UK-based chief financial officer. The employee found it suspicious initially because the CFO asked for a secret transaction, but then he was invited to a video call where everyone in attendance looked and sounded like the colleagues he recognized.
Reassured by the familiar faces, the worker transferred $200 million Hong Kong dollars (about $25.6 million.) However, it was a mistake. "(In the) multi-person video conference, it turns out that everyone [he saw] was fake," senior superintendent Baron Chan Shun-ching told the city’s public broadcaster RTHK (via CNN).
Later, the employee checked with the corporation’s head office and realized he had become a victim of fraud. It is believed the criminals used deepfake technology to fool the worker – another case in Hong Kong police's experience, which had reportedly made six arrests connected to such scams.
According to Chan, eight stolen Hong Kong ID cards were used to make 90 loan applications and 54 bank account registrations between July and September last year. AI deepfakes have been used to trick facial recognition programs at least 20 times.
Scammers are coming up with more elaborate schemes, so next time you hop on a call don't believe everything you see and make sure you're talking with who you're supposed to talk, especially if money is involved.
Find the original article here and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.