With the assistance of AI technology, Americans have become targets of assaults where the voices of familiar individuals have been replicated.
As per a Fox News report referencing a quarterly Senate Committee on Aging report, scams have been directed at elderly individuals in the United States, resulting in $1.1 billion in losses in 2022. The report highlights that a significant number of victims have been subjected to AI technology, which duplicates the voices of individuals they trust.
The report reveals that criminals utilized AI technology to imitate the voices of loved ones or acquaintances in the majority of well-known scams. Subsequently, the scammers utilized these mimicked voices in phone conversations to request money from their targets. They employ emotional pleas for financial aid during these simulated calls, referencing fabricated harm or injuries.
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Senator Elizabeth Warren believes that the reported $1.1 billion total loss underestimates the actual impact since many victims opt not to report such crimes due to shame.
During a Thursday committee hearing on the matter, Senator Bob Casey, the committee’s chair, stressed the necessity for federal legislation to safeguard individuals from such AI-driven fraud.
The firsthand accounts we have received from individuals nationwide are truly distressing. “Anyone, irrespective of age, gender, or background, can fall prey to these highly convincing scams.” I empathize with the fear and anxiety experienced by these victims as a caregiver and grandmother, remarked Casey.
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Dr. Tahir Ekin, a producer at the Texas State Center for Analytics and Data Science, highlighted the importance of raising awareness about the tactics employed by AI scammers.
Ekin emphasized, “Prioritizing the education of older Americans on data and AI and consistently engaging them in prevention and detection efforts is crucial.”
AI-Related Threats
Numerous notable researchers and scholars have expressed concerns about the escalating advancements in AI research. Some experts fear that the scenarios depicted in popular media like “Terminator” could become a reality in the near future, given the progress made in developing systems previously only seen in Hollywood films.