Posted on 11/19/2023 4:32:39 AM PST by Libloather
Older Americans reportedly lost $1.1 billion to fraud in 2022, according to the annual Senate Committee on Aging report released this month, and most of the scams utilized AI technology to clone the voices of people they knew and other AI-generated ploys.
During a Thursday committee hearing on AI scams, committee chairman Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., published the group’s annual fraud book highlighting the top scams last year. It found that from January 2020 to June 2021, the FBI found "individuals reportedly lost $13 million to grandparent and person-in-need scams."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, also a member of the committee, said the $1.1 billion figure in total losses is "almost surely an underestimate," since it does not factor in the instances of victims who don't report scams due to embarrassment.
Casey said in a statement that "federal action" is needed to put up guardrails to protect consumers from AI-generated scams. There are currently very little regulations on AI capacities, which witnesses urged lawmakers to crack down on through legislation.
"Any consumer, no matter their age, gender, or background, can fall victim to these ultra-convincing scams, and the stories we heard today from individuals across the country are heartbreaking," he said. "As a parent and grandparent, I relate to the fear and concern these victims must feel."
The top 10 categories of scams reported in the fraud book were financial impersonation and fraud, robocalls, computer scams, catfishing on dating profiles, identity theft and others.
The most prominent scams used AI technology to mimic people’s voices who then make calls to the victims, family members or loved ones, asking for money. Several testimonies from witnesses in the hearing said they received calls that sounded exactly like their loved one was in danger, was injured or was being held hostage.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
“”I DO NOT answer calls from unknown numbers -””
Ditto - can’t figure out WHY some people do....I write them down and block them!
Don’t answer the phone unless:
1) You know who it is and
2) You want to talk to them.
Let them talk to voice mail. If it is important you can call them back.
Imagine being Liawatha and being on a committee investigating scams and fraud lol.
“But thank goodness John with the IRS called me and I got THAT straightened out.
I think I was helped by the same guy. Was that John Smith with a thick Hindi accent? He got me squared away the IRS.
Yes. Yes, it was. Small world!
= = = =
I shouldn’t poke fun though. One day I sat across the den from my wife while she was busily calling a number that had just popped up on her laptop screen warning her of a virus. I was half listening, but finally figured out something was off with the call. Shut it down immediately.
My wife works at CVS and at least once a week they have an elderly person trying to get help to send money orders or hundreds of dollars of gift cards to someone on the phone.
The employees have been trained to ask lots of questions and stall the transaction until they convince the elderly person it is a scam.
I am sure bank employees must deal with the same stuff.
I’ve gotten texts from somewhere claiming there is a problem with my bank of Missouri account.
Say what? I think I traveled through the state ONCE in my entire life. Such an obvious ploy.
I also get texts about my paypal or ebay account, which I have neither.
I don’t even reply *STOP* because then they know they got a legitimate number.
I noticed something similar. Phishing emails purporting to come from Harbor Freight, Lowes, Home Depot, as well as Amazon and Paypal informing me of a “free” gift. They are well crafted and use hotlinks for their graphic images that actually go back to the legitimate institutions.
I just mark them as phishing so future ones go straight to deleted items and go about my day.
I did kinda like that 69-piece Milwaukee power set though ;’}
I preferred life before the internet, social media, and AI.
But that’s just me.
Something old is new again -
Paper check fraud is on the rise: What to know
https://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/paper-check-fraud-is-resurging-what-to-know
Money talks.
Mine always says goodbye.
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