FBI Warns of Escalating AI-Powered Fraud Schemes and Offers Protective Measures

FBI says criminals are exploiting GenAI to scale up fraud schemes

Facepalm: Generative AI services are gaining immense popularity among both internet users and cybercriminals. According to the FBI, "synthetic" content is increasingly being exploited to carry out various types of fraud. However, with the right precautions, individuals can still effectively protect themselves online. The FBI has issued an alert about the criminal misuse of generative AI technology. In a recently published public service announcement, the bureau warns Americans that fraudsters are exploiting AI-generated content to make their illegal schemes more convincing and effective. According to the FBI, generative AI allows criminals to reduce the time and effort needed to deceive their targets. These AI tools take user inputs to "synthesize" entirely new content based on prompts. They can even help correct human errors that might otherwise raise suspicion, particularly in AI-generated text. Creating content with AI isn't inherently illegal, but it becomes a crime when that content is used in fraud or extortion attempts. The FBI's alert outlines several examples of how generative AI can be misused and offers practical advice to help users protect themselves online. AI-generated text can appear highly convincing in social engineering or spear-phishing campaigns. Fraudsters are leveraging generative AI to produce large amounts of fake content, create fake social media profiles, send messages, and translate languages with greater accuracy and fewer grammatical errors. Entire fraudulent websites can now be built in record time, and chatbots are being used to trick victims into clicking malicious links. AI-generated images are, unsurprisingly, at the forefront of current trends, and cybercriminals are taking full advantage of them. Fraudsters are using AI-generated visuals to enhance fake social media profiles and counterfeit ID documents that support fraudulent activities. According to the FBI, AI algorithms can produce "realistic" images that are being exploited in social engineering campaigns, spear phishing attempts, scams, and even "romance schemes." AI-generated audio and video content poses similar risks. Criminals can now impersonate public figures or even people personally known to their targets, requesting financial assistance or access to sensitive information like bank accounts. The FBI advises users to establish a "secret word" or phrase with trusted family and friends as a quick way to verify identities. Additional tips to guard against generative AI-enabled crimes include carefully inspecting images and videos for irregularities or inconsistencies, as well as minimizing the online availability of personal images or voice recordings. When dealing with financial requests, the FBI stresses the importance of verifying their legitimacy through direct phone calls rather than relying on text or email. Sensitive information should never be shared with individuals met exclusively online. While it may seem obvious, the FBI also reiterates that sending money, gift cards, or cryptocurrency to strangers online is highly risky and often leads to fraud.

FBI shares tips on how to tackle AI-powered fraud schemes

The FBI warns that scammers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to improve the quality and effectiveness of their online fraud schemes, ranging from romance and investment scams to job hiring schemes. "The FBI is warning the public that criminals exploit generative artificial intelligence (AI) to commit fraud on a larger scale which increases the believability of their schemes," reads the PSA. "Generative AI reduces the time and effort criminals must expend to deceive their targets." The PSA presents several examples of AI-assisted fraud campaigns and many topics and lures commonly used to help raise awareness. The agency has also shared advice on identifying and defending against those scams. Generative AI tools are perfectly legal aids to help people generate content. However, they can be abused to facilitate crimes like fraud and extortion, warns the FBI. This potentially malicious activity includes text, images, audio, voice cloning, and videos. Some of the common schemes the agency has uncovered lately concern the following: Artificial intelligence has been widely used for over a year to create cryptocurrency scams containing deepfake videos of popular celebrities like Elon Musk. More recently, Google Mandiant reported that North Korean IT workers have been using artificial intelligence to create personas and images to appear as non-North Korean nationals to gain employment with organizations worldwide. Once hired, these individuals are used to generate revenue for the North Korean regime, conduct cyber espionage, or even attempt to deploy information-stealing malware on corporate networks. Although generative AI tools can increase the believability of fraud schemes to a level that makes it very hard to discern from reality, the FBI still proposes some measures that can help in most situations. These are summarized as follows: If you suspect that you're contacted by scammers or fallen victim to a fraud scheme, you are recommended to report it to IC3. When submitting your report, include all information about the person who approached you, financial transactions, and interaction details.

FBI: Your Social Media Pics, Videos Fuel AI Scams, So Consider Going Private

How do you stop criminals from using generative AI to exploit unsuspecting users? The FBI suggests you may want to cool it with the public social media posts. In a Tuesday alert, the agency warned that criminals are abusing generative AI technologies in numerous ways, often to trick victims into handing over their cash. It lays out 17 techniques that criminals favor for creating deepfakes -- or AI-generated images, video, and voice clones -- which help them pose as the victims, their family members, or celebrities. "Criminals generate short audio clips containing a loved one's voice to impersonate a close relative in a crisis situation, asking for immediate financial assistance or demanding a ransom," the FBI said in one example -- a tactic that grabbed headlines last year. In some cases, the culprits are even using AI to power real-time video calls that can deepfake a company executive or a law enforcement official. In response, the FBI urges the public to consider some rather drastic measures to deny criminals access to personal content that could fuel their schemes. That's because scammers often steal publicly available photos, videos, and audio to convincingly mimic individuals. "If possible, limit online content of your image or voice, make social media accounts private, and limit followers to people you know to minimize fraudsters' capabilities to use generative AI software to create fraudulent identities for social engineering," the FBI wrote in the alert. The agency also says users should consider creating "a secret word or phrase with your family" to help users weed out voice-cloning scams that could occur on the phone or online. "Listen closely to the tone and word choice to distinguish between a legitimate phone call from a loved one and an AI-generated vocal cloning," the FBI adds. The alert underscores how generative AI, for its all benefits, is also unleashing a new wave of more advanced cybercriminal schemes. The FBI's warning suggests that the public may need to adopt stricter security practices and rethink how much personal information they share online.

FBI: Use a secret code to outsmart AI scams

The FBI has issued a public service announcement urging smartphone users to create a secret code word to combat AI-generated scams. This recommendation comes as reports reveal an increase in cyber fraud leveraging generative AI to enhance deceitful tactics. Security experts say these tools can manipulate communication tactics, making it difficult to discern genuine messages from forgeries. As a precaution, the FBI has also advised users to stop using Rich Communication Services (RCS) for cross-platform texts, as these do not offer end-to-end encryption. In public service alert number I-120324-PSA, the FBI reported that cyber criminals increasingly utilize generative AI in phishing schemes. These advancements allow attackers to produce realistic emails and messages, thereby reducing the chance that potential victims will recognize them as fraudulent. In one example, AI can correctly generate content that might ordinarily contain spelling or grammar mistakes, which were once telltale signs of scams. As a result, victims may become increasingly vulnerable to revealing sensitive information. The FBI outlined several alarming ways generative AI can facilitate cyber attacks. These include generating photos that create a convincing identity, using images of celebrities to promote fraudulent activities, and generating audio clips that mimic loved ones requesting financial help. Additionally, AI technology is capable of producing real-time video chats featuring individuals who claim to be company executives or law enforcement personnel, further blurring the lines between reality and deception. Law enforcement faces challenges with iPhones' automatic rebooting To safeguard against these threats, the FBI emphasizes the importance of verification. Users are advised to hang up if they receive suspicious calls and independently verify the caller's identity by searching for and using verified contact information. Creating a secret word agreed upon by family members can serve as a protective measure against fraudulent emergency calls. This simple precaution can ensure that any dire requests for assistance can be validated. Evolving reports indicate that generative AI is being increasingly utilized in diverse cyber scams, from tech support fraud to banking fraud. Investigators have noted a trend in AI-driven tactics pivoting towards manipulative behaviors in communications, especially via smartphones. This indicates a significant shift in the landscape of cybersecurity threats. Genetic AI is also blurring the lines of authenticity across popular communication platforms. Due to the inherent vulnerabilities in systems such as RCS, Apple and Android users need to be particularly cautious when dealing with cross-platform text messages, which now lack guaranteed safe encryption. Consequently, utilizing encrypted messaging services, such as WhatsApp, has become more critical than ever.