Sam N. works in the technology industry.
Typically, he’s pretty good at spotting an online scam.
But a recent scam was more advanced than even he expected.
You see, Sam received an email account recovery notification for his Gmail account.
He denied the request.
Soon, he received a call with the caller ID “Google.”
He ignored the call.
But then the same number called again.
So, this time he answered.
The caller said they were from Google and that there was suspicious activity on Sam’s Gmail account.
Since Sam was skeptical of the caller, he told them to send him an email about the security issue.
The caller immediately did so.
And the email came from a legitimate Google domain.
Everything the caller did and said appeared legitimate.
But Sam’s gut still told him something wasn’t right.
So, he ended the phone call.
It turns out that the whole thing was a scam. There was never an issue with Sam’s Gmail account.
It’s most likely that the scammer targeted Sam and did an online search using artificial intelligence.
They probably did a broad search of Sam’s name and found his Gmail address, phone number, and other identifying information.
Think about that, they used artificial intelligence to find out all the information they could about Sam… including the fact that he had a Gmail address.
In addition, the person who called Sam had an American voice and was very pleasant.
But Sam actually believes that the voice was an AI clone.
It seems hackers used artificial intelligence in a variety of different ways to try to gain access to Sam’s email account.
Chances are that he was targeted because he works in the technology industry.
But scammers are using artificial intelligence to target more people than ever before.
And shockingly, over 90% of cyber security breaches start with a phishing email.
So, here are a few ways criminals are using AI to target people with personalized scams like the one used on Sam.
More than just a name:
Artificial intelligence has helped scammers create hyper-personalized emails in many different ways.
AI can be used to compile information about email users by scanning their social media and other online profiles.
Basically, by using AI to do the legwork, the scammers can create a robust profile about their target… things like what they post on social media and what pages they follow.
And they can use this information to target the person with an email they’re more likely to open or respond to.
For example, if you post online about selling motorcycles the scammer could easily target you with an email about motorcycles.
AI gives the hacker more detailed information to find leverage points to use against you.
Attachments:
Even if you know the person who sent you the email, and it appears legitimate, you shouldn’t open an attachment you weren’t expecting.
Since AI-generated emails are so advanced everything might look real.
The scammers could be pinning their hope on you opening a fraudulent attachment.
Before opening the attachment, reach out to the person who sent the email.
Call or text them to verify that they sent you the email with an attachment.
Don’t email them because their email account could be compromised and you’ll just be getting scammed.
Formatting:
Emails, especially those from institutions or businesses like your bank, will typically have the same formatting.
They’ll have a consistent signature, logo, etc.
And we all have those friends who sign their emails in signature fonts they think look fancy.
So, if you get an email that you are suspicious of, open an old email from the same person and see if the font, format, and everything else are the same.
Artificial intelligence has given cybercriminals the ability to create more personalized emails than ever before.
Even worse is that many AI-generated emails are so sophisticated that they will slip past security measures put in place by the email provider.
And this trend is just going to continue to increase in frequency.
So, always be careful before opening or responding to any email that seems even a little bit off.
