AI is making internet scams harder to catch
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What are the basics of how AI is changing internet scams?
Internet scams are mainstays of the global information superhighway. But as technology advances, so have the ways that people are trying to trick you. And today we're joined by Issi Lepowski, a freelance reporter with Bloomberg. Thank you so much for being with us this afternoon.
Sure. Thanks for having
me. Absolutely. So what impact has AI had on Internet scams?
I would say that it has really turbocharged Internet scams. It hasn't necessarily created that many new categories. People are still getting duped into investment scams and duped into romance scams and all the scams we've experienced for a long time. But now it's just a lot harder to tell when you're dealing with the real thing, because
How has AI turbo‑charged traditional scams like romance and investment fraud?
You know, people can use all of these chat bots to smooth over, you know, language barriers or create much more convincing fraudulent websites to lead you to. There's even advances in, you know, cloning of people's voices that are enabling these scams to just be a lot more convincing than they have been in the past.
So given all these advances, how can we protect ourselves from these different types of scams?
Well, it really depends on the type of scam, right? I mean, there are technical barriers. You know, some of the tech platforms are trying to help protect people, say, from these voice cloning scams, right? Google has introduced some technology that is trying to, you know, if you get an urgent call from your mom saying she needs $1,000, you know, they are actually doing some technical work in the background to protect let you know that it really is your mom calling. And then some of it is really low tech, right? Maybe you get that call and the first thing you should do is hang up the phone and call your mom. And don't trust that the person on the other side really is who they say they are. And that goes for your family, that goes for your banks.
What practical steps can individuals take to protect themselves from AI‑enhanced scams?
Other people are suggesting coming up with things like, you know, passcodes within your family so that if you do get that urgent call or text message or email, you can ask for the passcode and hopefully only your family will know it.
That's a great idea. So you mentioned some of the scams. Are there some more advanced scams? And also, can you give us a sense of how much people are losing?
Well, last year, US consumers lost about $20.9 billion to online scams. Obviously, it is tough to know exactly which ones involve AI and which ones don't, right? You don't get to interview all of the scammers. What we do know is close to a billion of those dollars are suspected to be likely linked to AI. I would guess it's likely higher than that. I would say in terms of the different types of scams, you know, dating platforms have seen a rise.
How much money are consumers losing to AI‑related scams and what new scam types are emerging?
There's also a rise in these, you know, email invitation scams. I myself have been drawn into this, where you get an invite, it looks like it's from your friend or family member and it's inviting you to a special event, but it doesn't really include much detail. If you click on it, you may be inadvertently downloading malware. You may be prompted to enter some of your login credentials, which will give your information to scammers. A key step there is to check the sender and make sure it is actually coming from one of these e-bike companies. If it looks like it's coming from anywhere else or even a person's private Gmail account, that is likely a scam.
I don't like living like this, but it seems like we need to be so distrustful.
We really do, because I would say all of the things that we used to look for to tell us that it was a scam, all the red flags, right, the sort of suspicious Nigerian princes and the bad grammar, like that's gone. These scams are just a lot more smooth, a lot more convincing now. And so our spidey senses have to evolve along with them.
You brought up Google. Are other tech companies stepping up to combat these scams?
Which tech companies are developing tools to detect and block AI‑driven fraud?
They certainly are. I think they're all trying to work on ways. For instance, I know X is trying to cut down on crypto scams, which is a really rising category of scams. I mentioned the dating platforms, right?
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What are the basics of how AI is changing internet scams?
0:00–0:45
2
How has AI turbo‑charged traditional scams like romance and investment fraud?
0:45–1:52
3
What practical steps can individuals take to protect themselves from AI‑enhanced scams?
1:52–2:47
4
How much money are consumers losing to AI‑related scams and what new scam types are emerging?
2:47–4:05
5
Which tech companies are developing tools to detect and block AI‑driven fraud?
4:05–5:07
6
What final advice does the expert give for spotting urgency tactics and staying safe?
5:07–6:16
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from KCBS Bloomberg Tech and Business Report
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