AI misuse leads to another financial scam in China

A surge has been observed in the number of AI-driven scams across the world. Recently, a man from Northern China was trapped in an ugly scam that involved deepfake technology.

This incident has stunned authorities and people as AI misuse of this propensity can aggravate financial crime ratios across the world.

China and other countries are monitoring AI activities with the increasing number of AI-driven frauds in the financial industry. Let’s find out more about this incident

The Deepfake Scam Incident
This incident occurred in northern China and the police mentioned that the scammer used the AI-powered face-swapping technology to imitate a friend of the victim during the video call and obtain a transfer of 4.3 million yuan (Rs 5 crores).

As reported by Reuters, the individual transferred the money assuming that his friend needed the sum to deposit for a bidding process. The victim realised the scam only when his friend denied such an instance.

The authorities have recovered most of the stolen sum but the search for the remaining amount is still on.

What Is Deepfake Technology?
Deepfake is an AI technology form that uses deep machine learning to design realistic but duplicate or fake images and videos.

Algorithms detect the plethora of data and analyze and track its patterns to draw realistic conclusions.

In this scenario, several audio and visual data of that individual are tracked from public sources to train a deep learning model and create a deepfake.

Given the rise in digital scams in India, individuals should remain vigilant and exercise caution while doing digital interactions or even while doing digital transactions to known accounts. Deepfake scams can occur in different forms especially mimicking voices of beloved ones to withdraw/transfer money has become one of the common ways to scam innocent people. Bloomberg