The scope of artificial intelligence is gradually expanding. Political leaders and world famous people see the greatest effects of this. Old US President Donald Trump And Pope Francis The images on the subject created with the help of artificial intelligence had a major impact in society.

Although the songs and videos produced with fake voices seem amusing, there is also a dark dimension: Fraud. A ransom was demanded from a mother for her kidnapped daughter in the past, and the fake voice of the allegedly kidnapped girl was used to prove the reality of the situation. In fact, the girl was never kidnapped.

The same fraud method becomes more realistic with artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence scams are becoming more and more common, and it can get pretty scary when the voice at the end of the phone sounds like the voice of a loved one. Today, fraud is a profession for some in many parts of the world, including our country. With the development of technology, this situation is becoming more and more credible. Phone scams are of course the easiest and most common. But now it’s even scarier.

In April 2023, we saw examples of the next generation of artificial intelligence scams. For example, using the call spoofing method, a loved one appeared as the caller on the victim’s phone. Another used an AI voice clone to try to extort a ransom from a mother to free her kidnapped daughter.

McAfee company saw such abuse of artificial intelligence and published an in-depth report on the subject. In the report, the company explains ways to prevent false votes and protect against fraud.

Before explaining the methods, let’s see how fake artificial intelligence voices work together.

How does AI voice cloning work?

First of all, we can say that AI voting fraud is a new version of a long-established method, but it is much more convincing than that. Usually with this type of fraud; A loved one’s voice is used to request money for an emergency, or the victim is told they have kidnapped a loved one for ransom.

In 2019, scammers posed as the CEO of a UK-based energy company, He demanded $243,000. In Hong Kong, a bank manager was tricked by someone using voice cloning technology, resulting in a major wire transfer in early 2020. In Canada, at least eight senior citizens were charged with vote cloning fraud earlier this year. He lost $200,000.

Because AI voice cloning tools are so cheap and available, making voice clones for bad actors is actually quite easy. Of course, social media is the easiest way to get sample audio to do this. The more you share your voice online, the easier it is for scammers to find and clone your voice.

The image above shows the results of a survey. According to the data obtained; 26% of users say they share their voice on social media once or twice a week.

How common is AI voice scam?

While some stories of artificial intelligence voting scams are just starting to make headlines, research shows that these types of scams are becoming quite common.

Looking at global surveys, 25% of people say they or someone they know has been exposed to an artificial intelligence scam. According to research data The country with the most AI voting fraud issues is India at 47%.

Speech cloning tools provide 95% accuracy

The artificial intelligence tools used for cloning voices are so realistic that almost all victims say the fake voice looks exactly like the voice of the person they know. In fact, in the ransom case we mentioned above, the victim’s mother states that even her daughter’s “tongue” is the same, except for her voice.

The fact that artificial intelligence fake voices are so similar to the real thing is costing people thousands of dollars in a short period of time. According to research, AI are victims of voting fraud 77%He loses their money. The data is in total for the year 2022. $2.6 billion indicates that a coin has been stolen in this way.

So, how do you distinguish fake sounds from real sounds?

For now, there is no surefire and quick way to avoid AI voice scams. However, there are some precautions you can take yourself.

1. Limit how much you share your audio and/or video online and/or make your social media accounts private instead of public,
2. If you get a suspicious call and a loved one needs immediate financial help, ask a few questions that only that person can answer (never ask a question that can be answered online).
3. Cybercriminals rely on the emotional connection between you and their impersonator to mobilize the victim. Be skeptical and don’t be afraid to ask questions. If your doubts are not cleared, hang up and call that person directly.