The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought about a new wave of possibilities and conveniences, which is especially true when OpenAI released ChatGPT. However, as with any innovation, there comes a darker side. In RealCall’s recent survey aiming at unveiling the prevalence and impact of AI-driven scams, insights have emerged. The results not only shed light on the scale of this emerging threat but also present a roadmap for individuals to safeguard against these malicious activities. As we delve into the findings of the survey, we uncover patterns, trends, and crucial takeaways that can reshape the strategies of institutions in the ongoing battle against AI scams.
Key Takeaways
- Compared with traditional scams, AI scams help scammers reduce costs and increase “success” rates. So, AI scams are much riskier than ordinary scams.
- Race and ethnicity minorities like American Indians and American Asians are at the greatest risk of AI scams, 9 times more than those in non-Hispanic whites.
- People of all age groups can be vulnerable to AI scams and no specifically vulnerable group is protruding.
- The impact of AI scams on various age groups and occupations offers insights into the potential expansion of AI scams, highlighting the need for increased awareness and vigilance.
What are AI scams?
AI scams, also known as artificial intelligence scams, involve the use of AI and related technologies to deceive individuals or manipulate them into providing sensitive information, money, or other valuable assets to scammers. These scams leverage the capabilities of AI, such as generating realistic content, mimicking trusted sources, and automating communication, to make their fraudulent activities more convincing and effective. Here are a few common types of AI scams impersonation scams, romance scams, tech support scams, voice cloning scams, deepfake scams, phishing attacks, social media scams, investment scams, emergency scams, etc.
The underlying principle of AI scams is to leverage technology to create content that seems authentic and trustworthy, making it difficult for victims to differentiate between legitimate communication and fraudulent attempts. As AI technology continues to advance, it’s likely that scammers will find new and creative ways to exploit its capabilities for their malicious purposes.
Characteristics of AI Scams
AI scams have common features with other types of scams and the characteristics of AI scams here refer to the essential features different from other types of scams.
High Believability and Authenticity
AI-generated content can closely mimic trusted sources like banks, social media platforms, friends, and family. This increases the chances of victims falling for scams, as the communication appears genuine. Scammers are able to use AI technology to generate someone’s fake voice, images or even videos. All the fake content generated by AI tools is so alike that it’s quite difficult to identify it. According to Microsoft, a new text-to-speech AI model called VALL-E that can closely simulate a person’s voice when given a 3-second audio sample.
Cost-Effectiveness
AI-powered tools enable scammers to automate processes and create convincing content at a fraction of the cost compared to traditional scams. This drives scammers to increasingly adopt AI-based tactics. Due to the AI tools available on the market, it’s quite handy to produce millions of scam texts within seconds. In other words, AI technology makes it easier for scammers to implement scams and to “make it”.
For example, as the keyword “AI voice cloning tool” is entered into Google, numerous recommendations are listed among the search results most of which are free to use.
Vulnerable Demographics
Some consumers are more likely to become victims of fraud than others. The study found that race or ethnicity, expectations about future income, and comfort with one’s level of debt were all associated with the likelihood of being a victim of fraud.
Racial and Ethnic Minorities
The survey found that members of several racial and ethnic minorities were much more likely to be victims of AI scams than non-Hispanic whites. Of non-Hispanic whites, 6.4 percent had been victims of one or more of the frauds covered by the survey. However, those who are American Indians and American Asians were at greatest risk: Almost 60.2 percent of survey participants in these two groups had been victims of one or more of the frauds covered by the survey – more than 9 times the percentage of victims among non-Hispanic whites.
The Elderly Experience Slightly More AI Scams
Before the survey, it was estimated by RealCall Insights Center that the elderly (61+ yrs) tend to suffer from more AI scams than any other age group. However, the survey result is not that typical. According to the answers catering to the familiarity of AI scams, the age group of 61+ yrs features much lower familiarity than the age groups of 21-40 yrs and 41-60 yrs.
However, the data difference is not that high when it comes to the vulnerability of AI scams between different age groups. The data shows that people of different ages are equally at risk of falling for AI scams. Even though older folks may not be as familiar with AI scams, they can still be just as vulnerable as younger generations. Surveys suggest that around one-third of people in each age group—whether they’re young, middle-aged, or elderly—are susceptible to AI scams. While we often hear about older individuals being targeted, the risk is pretty much the same for everyone, so anyone could become a victim of AI scams.
Emerging Trends and Predictions
AI scams are an evolving threat that shows no signs of receding. As scammers become more adept at utilizing AI, their potential victim pool expands to include both smart and less tech-savvy individuals. The ubiquity of AI-generated content and its increasing sophistication will likely lead to an escalation in AI phone scams and other forms of digital deception.
Conclusion
AI scams have proven to be a formidable and evolving challenge, leveraging technology to deceive individuals from various demographics. The increasing believability of AI-generated content, coupled with its cost-effectiveness, highlights the urgency for individuals to maintain skepticism and vigilance in their digital interactions. Awareness campaigns, education, and improved digital literacy are crucial in the fight against the growing threat of AI scams.
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RealCall AI: Defeat AI with AI
This is how RealCall works on your phone: OpenAI + RealCall Blocklist.
Simply put, the more you use RealCall, the less risk you’ll receive spam or scam calls.
Between You and Scammers is RealCall AI as a One-to-One Mobile Communication Guardian.
Powered by OpenAI, the leading AI research and deployment company, RealCall AI is capable of automatically dealing with all risky and unwanted texts behind the screen. Based on the AI language model, ChatGPT 4 can analyze and process language input to identify patterns, sentiments, and intent and sense the trivial malicious intent hidden in the text messages ordinary people fail to notice. Plus, with the continuously updated risky number database developed by the RealCall team and long-term users’ reports, RealCall AI is capable of accurately and quickly identifying scam-like texts and dealing with them in users’ personalized ways. Instead of blocking alone, RealCall AI is capable of letting pass all the important and necessary text messages that really belong to users’ demands like those from real hospitals, banks, etc. Between you and scammers is RealCall AI as a one-to-one mobile communication guardian.