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Criminals use AI to steal money

While AI can have many good uses, bad people can also use it for nefarious purposes.
While AI can have many good uses, bad people can also use it for nefarious purposes.
Joshua Loughren

Artificial Intelligence has been around since the 1950s and has been used a lot in recent years. AI means a machine has the intelligence of a human in technology and can perform tasks such as decision-making, reasoning, and solving problems.

What if I told you all these amazing things listed could put a human’s life in danger?

With the advanced technology, AI has the ability to use your personal things, such as your voice, as an advantage for scammers to threaten your family and steal. This scandal has happened to many and needs more awareness so it doesn’t happen to you or anyone you know.

If you’re wondering how a computer-controlled robot can get your voice, it is much easier than you think. The scammer can use any content you have on the internet or social media. 

The scammer can record a voice and upload it as a file. The software then uses deep learning algorithms to copy your speech patterns and tone to make a digital voice. They then can make the voice say whatever.

“Some of these voice overs, if you have heard them, it’s amazingly good,” said Vipin Chaudhary, professor of Computer and Data Sciences at Case Western Reserve University via News 5 Cleveland.

Scammers who want money can call a person’s family members and make it like they are in the background calling for help. The scammer then threatens the caller to give them money by using an AI voice that sounds like one of their loved ones. The victim “calling for help” in real life is actually safe, but their family member thinks something bad happened to them.

People who want to save their family members give the scammer money because the AI voice sounds very realistic because of how accurate the generated voice sounds.

This scandal happens mostly to influencers and celebrities who have a lot of money and have multiple videos with their voice on the internet. This allows scammers to easily access their voice and use it.  

To prevent anyone from falling for this trap, create a safe word or a phrase your family knows. You can also ask the voice a question and see if it answers it. If the voice does not answer the question, you will know that the call is a scam and is using an AI generated voice.

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