Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to find its way into more and more applications all the time, from traffic apps to facial recognition to tracking financial transactions. In fact, there is an AI-generated hologram that is one of Japan’s leading concert acts; yes, really. Here, see for yourself.
AI-generated voices and people are now being used to create online dating scams, and other games of con, as one might expect.
Artificial intelligence can target you through texts, social networks, and dating apps.
Some victims lost thousands of dollars to people they thought were real women but turned out to be fakes. The people behind the scheme were stealing their cash and hearts.
“Hey honey, you are the best,” says the woman in the video. Although it may appear real to some people, two security experts claim that the video has been heavily filtered. The unnatural eyes, and the chin which blends into the neck, were also filtered out.
Jim, who requested that we not use his name, recently spoke to a woman, who convinced him to invest.
“And then she says, ‘Honey I love you,’ and I am like ‘What’? She says, “I’m in love with YOU.” I replied, “Well, I am old enough to be your dad.” She replied, “Well, it doesn’t really matter.” “We have a great deal in common,” he said.
The AI “woman” does not use Jim’s real name. The scammer soon became the sole owner of Jim’s money.
Jim first met her when he received a mysterious message via text. He believed they shared a mutual friend. He said that he didn’t want to date.
She says, “I’ve never seen anyone who is my equal. We have a lot in common. Jim said, “And she had an uncle on the Hong Kong stock exchange board.”
He was convinced that he should send $60,000. He claimed he lost the majority of his money because his investment went downhill. She opened a crypto account overseas in his name. But when Jim tried withdrawing the money, he would be charged thousands of dollars in upfront taxes. It’s a scam, say experts.
It’s hard not to wonder if these “experts” have a knack for stating the obvious because they certainly did that here.
If the request to “invest $60,000” didn’t raise any red flags, then what would?
Our bravest public officials are already on the scene.
If you examine some AI-generated pictures, there will always be warning signs. There are artifacts in the images. Hair that isn’t quite right. Fingers that are at an awkward angle. And eyes that seem… off. AI-generated images still have the uncanny Valley effect, which should raise a red flag for many people. Who sends money anonymously to people they only know through dating sites? It is tempting to say at some point that fools and their cash deserve to be separated; I admit, this is a tough school but a fool won’t learn any other way.
The problem is getting worse.
These types of romance scams have unfortunately gotten worse, whether they use AI or not. According to the Federal Trade Commission, $1.3 billion in losses were reported by 2022.
$1.3 billion!
The IRS has also added AI to its arsenal of ways for swindlers to drain the wallets of the middle class. Hold on to your wallets. The IRS could come after you if the scammers do not.
AI isn’t all bad. As Japan has demonstrated, AI can be used to entertain. When it comes to Artificial Intelligence we should always remember who invented it and whose equivalent we have not seen yet.
