Chinese Man Nearly Loses $600,000 To AI-Driven Scam In 10 Minutes
Can artificial intelligence be our friend? For a Chinese man, the answer is yes but mostly no. The man, from China's Fujian province almost ended up losing approximately $600,000 (4.3 million yuan) in 10 minutes to a scammer who used artificial intelligence.
How the scammer duped a man
It appears that the incident took place on April 20 when the man, surnamed Guo, got a WeChat video call from someone who he thought was a friend. By using an artificial intelligence programme, a scammer was able to mimic the face and the voice of Guo's friend. The fake friend then asked for his company's bank information in order to make a bid for some project.
In order to convince Guo, the scammer falsely said that he had already transferred the money into his account. To prove this, he shared a screenshot of a fake bank transfer receipt. Sadly, the man ended up falling for it.
Also read:?Survey Says 83% Of Indian Voice Scam Victims Lost Money To AI-Generated Fraud
Guo told Global Times that he "verified the face and the voice," after which he let his guard down. The man made two separate transfers to the accounts provided by the scammer. After this point, he messaged his actual friend to realise that he had made no such request.
He immediately informed the police, who alerted the scammer's bank, urging them to stop the transfer. While the timely action was able to stop the transfer of 3.37 million yuan, about 932,600 yuan were still moved to the scammer's bank account. Now, the authorities are attempting to retrieve that amount.
The scammer reportedly didn't ask Guo to directly lend him money. Instead, "he said that he would transfer the money first, and then what I needed to do was transfer his money to his company¡¯s account," according to China Daily.
Also read:?AI Tools That Mimic Voices Of Loved Ones Being Used To Scam People
Such AI-generated scams are expected to experience a spike as generative tools become more sophisticated. It's advisable to always check with your close contacts in such instances directly instead of sharing any personal details with an unknown party claiming to be your acquaintance.
What do you think about the dangers of AI? Let us know in the comments below.?For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.
