ChatGPT , a powerful AI tool for text generation, released to the public in November 2022 by OpenAI , has become one of the most popular applications in just a few months thanks to its ability to use large data sets to provide fast and accurate answers. The AI chatbot is based on dialogue and can understand natural human language and produce detailed written text that resembles human-written text . Its capabilities can be useful in many industries, but as is always the case, a technology can also be used for malicious purposes . For example, ChatGPT, as well as other similar AI chatbots, could be used for AI romance scams on Valentine's Day.
Valentine 's Day is just around the corner and many are hoping to find love on this day. However, experts are warning of an increase in scams .
“Hackers typically focus on the times of year when we are most vulnerable,” Robert Falzon, chief engineering officer at cybersecurity provider Checkpoint Canada, told Global News.
See also: Opera browser: Will soon integrate ChatGPT
Valentine's Day is an ideal opportunity for scammers to exploit unsuspecting people, according to Falzon.
Romance scams and catfishing have long been used by cybercriminals to trick innocent victims looking for a little romance in their lives, according to Briana Brownell , CEO and founder of artificial intelligence (AI) consulting firm Pure Strategies. However, things are getting more difficult with the continued advancement of artificial intelligence.
The biggest challenge, according to a cybersecurity specialist, is to ensure that you don't fall into the trap of scammers who present themselves as something other than what they are.
Incorporating artificial intelligence into romance scams, through the use of ChatGPT or other tools, makes it more difficult to detect the scam.
Romance scams can lead to huge financial losses. Essentially, scammers try to build a relationship of trust and supposed mutual love with the victim online, and then try to extort money from them. According to an alert issued by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), romance scams were the second- largest source of financial losses last year.
In 2021, of the 1,249 reports of romance scams made to the CAFC, 925 victims reported a total loss of over 50 million dollars.
A recent increase in romance scams has also been noted by the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
“’s Day Valentine just around the corner and the pandemic still a part of our lives, those looking for love should be wary of scammers,” the BBB warned.
Thanks to available technology, scammers can create fake profile photos on dating apps, as well as fabricate voices and automate messages.
See also: Google created ChatGPT's competitor, Bard
Over 300 million people use dating apps worldwide, with about 20 million paying for premium features. This means the number of potential victims is huge.
The evolution, especially in image generation, has made it even harder to detect these scams.
Furthermore, the use of AI ChatGPT to automate conversations in dating apps can significantly increase the success rate of romance scams.
Scammers can also create “bots” to have automated conversations with multiple victims at once.
“The technology to run hundreds or thousands or millions of these scams at once is suddenly available,” Brownell said.
Last month, ElevenLabs' voice synthesis platform, allowing users to create realistic-sounding voices of any personby simply uploading a voice sample and typing in the text that the AI tool should speak in the voice that users have suggested.
Immediately after its release, fake videos began appearing online .There were videos of US President Joe Biden delivering a speech attacking transgender people, Bill Gates saying that COVID-19 vaccines caused AIDS, etc.
This technology can easily be used in romance scams to make the fraud more realistic.
According to Katrina Ingram, CEO of Ethically Aligned AI, a business launched in 2021 to advise and educate companies on artificial intelligence, the history of artificial intelligence shows that there is a close relationship with deception.
“Although recently what we’re seeing is some extremely sophisticated capabilities that these systems are using to mix words and mix images in ways that may appear to represent human-derived content,” he told Global News.
“And of course, if you have someone who does not have good intentions, they will truly want to deceive you in some way using these tools. It equips them with more capabilities to create a truly persuasive, misleading presence on the internet“.
Valentine's Day is tomorrow, February 14th, so we should all be on the lookout for romance scams that can be difficult to spot due to ChatGPT and other powerful AI tools.
See also: How to use ChatGPT AI chatbot on Android
Dating app users are perhaps the most vulnerable, as these apps are typically used to find romantic partners, so communicating with a stranger is common. However, we should also be careful with potential emails or messages we may receive.
One way to spot a scam is through poor grammar or spelling. However, with the help of artificial intelligence and automation tools, hackers have gotten better at this, making it harder to identify a malicious email.
According to the Better Business Bureau, you should never send money or personal information to someone you have never met in person.
As detecting fraudsters becomes more complex, using protection on your computer and mobile device is vital.
Romance scams are becoming more common as more people turn to online dating, which can be even more pronounced on Valentine's Day, when people feel more lonely without a partner. Romance scams are very effective because they exploit people's need for love and companionship, and the use of artificial intelligence and tools like ChatGPT makes the situation worse, as it is harder to detect scams.
Source: q107.com
