AI phone scam made a woman believe that her brother is dead

An artificial intelligence refers to a computer system which is capable of performing tasks which would otherwise require human intelligence. AIs have got to some extent a problem solving skills, reasoning, perception and learning mechanism somewhat similar to humans. AI systems have got a wide set of functions in today’s world. In fact, it is impossible to be in 2023 and not be surrounded by AI assistance. AIs are present in all parts of our lives regardless of whether we recognize their presence, everything from google maps to banking systems make use of AIs to work efficiently.

AI: Friend or foe?

Some technologies that make use of AIs include speech and image recognition, language processing, medical diagnosis and autonomous vehicles. An interesting point to be noted is that AIs are a useful tool for both fraud detection and fraudulent activities. One such fraud that AIs are used for is known as the Artificial Intelligence Phone Scam. Although the scam has been around for quite some time now, most people are still not aware of it and often end up falling for it. In a recent AI phone scam, a woman was led to believing that her brother had died in a car accident. When she did realize that her brother was fine, she took to TikTok to spread awareness about the scam.

Credits: Simplilearn

Negative consequences of AI:

While there are numerous benefits associated with AI technology, there are negative consequences which can come along with its use. Some of these might include:

1. Discriminatory tone: If AI systems are not trained properly, they can perpetuate biased and discriminatory opinions. The tone of an AI software depends on the quality of the data that was fed to it.
2. Data Confidentiality: The data fed to an AI software for its development could sometimes be sensitive and private in nature. There are chances of the data being used for malicious purposes if it falls into wrong hands.
3. Job Displacement: Although AI is expected to create a lot more jobs than what it would create, it is important to understand that the jobs which they might replace do not need much training but those created will require a high skill set that all people might not possess.

AI Phone Scam:

AI phone scams usually make use of automated voice systems which impersonate actual human beings. Such spams are particularly difficult to detect for older people because the AI systems are capable of copying usual human speech patterns and intonation. The fraudster in such scams pretends to be from a bank or insurance service and tries getting the victim to make a payment citing some fake reasons. In  other cases, they could also pretend that a friend or relative of the victim requires monetary assistance for an emergency.

This is exactly what happened with Brook Bush’s grandfather. The fraudster called her grandfather and impersonated her brother’s voice. When the old man picked up the call, he heard his grandson’s voice telling him that he was about to get in a wreck. Brook was forced into believing that her brother had died and started looking for him only to later realize that it was a scam. The fraudster was trying to gaslight them into believing that her brother had killed someone and was now in jail. He planned on asking the family for bail money.

Brook later uploaded a video on TikTok to make others aware of the scam. The comment section of the post revealed that Brook was not the only victim of such a scam and there were several others who got similar calls in the past few years.

Preventive Measures:

1. Be more aware when picking unsolicited calls especially when they come from businesses that deal with money.
2. Do not reveal your personal information over a call.
3. Verify the identity of the caller.
4. Use two-factor authentication.
5. If you find call suspicious, report it to relevant authorities.