This is how scammers act to steal money through Artificial Intelligence
Through a fake video call with an alleged manager, they defrauded a Hong Kong company of 23 million euros.
The uses of false identities and impersonation through 'deepfake' technology generated with Artificial Intelligence have increased by 3,000% in the last year, which represents an emerging threat due to new forms of financial fraud .
Using a fake or stolen identity is the leading way to illegally access a bank account , and victims around the world are being deprived of billions of their own money.
Now, scammers deceive people using Artificial Intelligence capable of imitating the human voice and even the physical appearance of people in a convincing way.
How do I know if I am being scammed?
A recent example of major digital fraud involving manipulation of videos or images occurred when an amount of €23 million was transferred to an undisclosed company in Hong Kong on the orders, it is believed, of the firm's chief financial officer.
According to Hong Kong police , the employee who carried out the transfer believed that the company's chief financial officer, as well as everyone on the video call, was real. The scam was discovered when the employee later checked with the company's head office.
What to do if I am a victim of a scam?
There are more and more reports of people receiving calls from friends and family asking for financial help. They look real. They may not ask for much. But when in doubt, experts say, always hang up and call your interlocutor again.
Another shocking fraudulent use of AI has occurred in Australia , where it has been used to create deepfake news and videos, often starring a celebrity, to promote investment opportunities . According to the National Anti-Scam Centre, these cases cost Australians more than $8 million (€4.88 million) last year.
Similar attempts occurred closer to Europe , in October 2023, when deepfake videos imitating BBC presenters appeared to promote an Elon Musk investment project .
In the United States , the FBI's Internet Crime Reporting Center received almost 900,000 reports last year , 22% more than the previous year. Potential losses exceed $12.5 billion (€11.5 billion).
Future damage could easily be higher, as experts predict an annual increase of $2 billion (€1.4 billion) in AI identity fraud, according to Marketwatch.
Trends in financial fraud using AI
The financial sector has reportedly witnessed a significant increase in frauds involving deepfakes and machine learning algorithms.
These tools are making their way through ID counterfeiting , including document verification, biometric verification, and data validation.
Document manipulation is increasing rapidly with the help of improved AI tools , and biometric verification is also gradually falling victim to this trend, according to identity verification provider Onfido in its Identity Fraud Report 2024.
Scammers are getting creative
One way scammers are getting creative with biometric fraud is the use of deepfakes, including face-swapping apps . Attempts to use deepfakes in scams increased sharply between 2022 and 2023.
"Increasingly, fraudsters use an authentic document and then change your face for biometric verification ," the report states. Currently, although biometric data falsification is a rising trend due to the wide range of online AI tools available, its use is not widespread.
These cases represent just over 2% of total fraud attempts . But deepfake and generative AI applications are growing. According to the report, which analyzes trends, a small number of fraudsters are responsible for the majority of deepfake attacks and they tend to focus on a single company at a time.
Another trend indicates that, while in previous years the number of scam attempts decreased during weekends, in 2023 they were constantly detected seven days a week , suggesting global and interconnected activity.
Europe is the region where the least fraudsters operate. Average fraud rates are 3.1% and the type of document most used in this type of crime is national identity documents .
How AI can protect against banking scams
"The same technological tools that make fraud more ubiquitous in banking and payments are enabling companies to address this challenge," say experts at consulting firm McKinsey's.
Thanks to collaboration with regulators and cybersecurity experts , cutting-edge solutions are being created . Among them, real-time fraud detection and prevention, driven by AI.
One of them is for AI to analyze a large amount of data , including the transactional patterns and spending behavior of each customer, and use machine learning to detect future fraudulent attempts .
Identifying patterns and pointing out anomalies allows you to respond quickly to suspicious activity. Citigroup uses these types of tools as part of its fight against money laundering , and HSBC aims to prevent payment fraud with the help of a similar AI system.
"AI can be leveraged for the greater good . Both government agencies and industries are increasingly leveraging AI and machine learning to effectively combat fraud ," Onfido's report notes.
They also note that AI tools exist to outwit fake IDs , detect duplicate data in fraud attempts, and check for signs of deepfake in biometric verification.
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