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A well-known online scam tactic involves pretending to seduce victims romantically to win their trust before asking them to send money.
Now, scammers are using new technologies to take their misdeeds to another level. Their latest trick involves deepfakes, or using artificial intelligence to pretend to be someone they’re not.
According to the FBI, in the US alone, this type of confidence or romance scam cost victims over US$652mil in losses in 2023. Now, Fox News is sounding the alarm about scammers’ growing use of deepfakes, deceptive videos generated by AI.
In particular, the American media outlet reports on the so-called “Yahoo Boys,” a group of cybercriminals based mainly in Nigeria. They are said to have inherited this nickname from the American tech giant’s instant messaging service, which they long used to operate.
These “Yahoo Boys” manipulate their appearance during video calls to pretend to be someone else and gain the trust of their victims. It’s essentially a form of catfishing – or posing as someone they’re not – for the AI era.
Once they’ve gained their victims’ trust, they trick them into transferring money under various pretexts. The use of deepfakes is even more effective in deceiving victims than the simple photos and text messages usually exchanged.
To make it work, the scammer actually uses two smartphones, or a smartphone combined with a laptop. One of the devices is used to make the video call, while the other runs the software generating the fake face and voice. And the results are particularly impressive.
In the face of such scams, internet users need to be vigilant and use common sense. For example, never send money to someone you don’t know. In all cases, remember to adjust your privacy settings on social networks to limit access to your personal information, and only use secure communication channels.
Finally, don’t be ashamed to report any suspicious activity to the relevant authorities or platforms. – AFP Relaxnews
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