The FBI yesterday issued a warning to the public that criminals are using generative artificial intelligence to commit financial fraud and provided tips for consumers on how to protect themselves.
Generative AI reduces the time and effort criminals must expend to deceive their targets, the FBI said in the warning. Examples include using the technology to create fictitious social media providers and messages to trick victims into sending money, the creation of realistic images and documents used in identity fraud and impersonation schemes, and voice cloning to obtain access to bank accounts or trick victims that a relative is in crisis and needs immediate financial assistance.
The FBI shared the following tips to help consumers protect themselves from AI-enabled fraud:
- Create a secret word or phrase with your family to verify their identity.
- Look for subtle imperfections in images and videos, such as distorted hands or feet, unrealistic teeth or eyes, indistinct or irregular faces, unrealistic accessories such as glasses or jewelry, inaccurate shadows, watermarks, lag time, voice matching and unrealistic movements.
- Listen closely to the tone and word choice to distinguish between a legitimate phone call from a loved one and AI-generated vocal cloning.
- If possible, limit online content of your image or voice, make social media accounts private, and limit followers to people you know to minimize fraudsters’ capabilities to use generative AI software to create fraudulent identities for social engineering.
- Verify the identity of the person calling you by hanging up the phone, researching the contact of the bank or organization purporting to call you, and call the phone number directly.
- Never share sensitive information with people you have met only online or over the phone.
- Do not send money, gift cards, cryptocurrency or other assets to people you do not know or have met only online or over the phone.
The FBI also encouraged people who believe they are victims of financial fraud schemes to file a report with the agency’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
