When these high -level politicians won their phones, they thought they were talking to the American Secretary of State Marco Rubio. But that was not the case: they actually spoke to a crook who used artificial intelligence (AI) to pretend to be one of the highest officials of the American president Donald Trump.
The impostor contacted three foreign ministers, a governor of the United States and a member of the US Congress, sending them voice and text messages by posing as Rubio via the signal encrypted application, in history reported for the first time by the Washington Post.
The American authorities do not know who is behind this identity theft, but they think that the scammer was trying to manipulate powerful government representatives to obtain access to information or accounts.
The scams involving AI are increasingly frequent as technology becomes more sophisticated. According to a survey of the Starling Bank28 % of the United Kingdom adults think they were targeted.
But how do fraudsters use AI and how can we avoid these scams?
How do the crooks use AI?
According to experts from the Australian University Charles Sturt, crooks can cloner A voice using a three -second audio extract and make friends believe that family members that close has an urgent need of money.
Voice samples can come from short videos posted on social media platforms such as Tiktok, continue the experts.
The AI then creates a realistic replica by capturing the speech patterns, the emphasis and breathing of a person, and can be used to read texts with precision.
An American Federal Office of Investigation (FBI) alert also has qualified These messages from “smishing et vishing”because they often contain links sent under the pretext of moving the conversation to another platform, as in the case of phishing by email.
What to do to avoid fraud?
THE Cybersecurity experts Matthew Wright and Christopher Schwartz of the American University of Rochester recommend being “attentive” Underant calls, even if they come from people we know well. Sending an SMS or an email to a person before a planned call can help you validate the identity of the other person.
“It is not enough to count on the identification of your contact”wrote Wright and Schwartz for The Conversation, because votes cloners are also able to falsify it.
Calls from unknown numbers may also present a risk, according to an information sheet on the usurpation of the appellant’s identity published by the Federal Communications Commission in the United States.
It is important to verify the identity of the person calling you or sends you a voice message. Before answering, do research on the number and, if it isA person you know, call them back to the phone number you have To verify its authenticity, according to the advice of the FBI.
The FBI suggests checking the contact details, the email address or the URLs to identify “Light differences” That crooks could use to gain your confidence.
For example, the agency indicates that crooks can use photographs accessible to the public in messages, or use “Minor modifications in names” Or the information to deceive the victims.
Another clue in a voice message could be that the tone and the choice of the words used are different from what you are used to known contact, said the FBI. If in doubt, you can define a secret word or sentence between family members to verify their identity.
To avoid being the target of a scam, be sure to Do not disclose personal information onlinesuch as your date of birth, your phone number, your second first name or the name of your pet. This information can be used with voice cloning to usurp your identity with banks or other organizations, Wright and Schwartz said.
If you hear about one of these crooks by text or by phone and you come into contact with him, Wright and Schwartz recommend being aware of your intellectual and emotional prejudices, because they will probably be exploited by the crooks.
If the crook pretends to be for someone you know, think twice about what he tells you, they continue. If the attitude is not usual or if it confirms your worst fears about a person, act with caution.