Many people have expressed concern that artificial intelligence could soon replace their jobs. Meanwhile, scammers are increasingly using AI to create fake job postings that also steal your identity. A new report of the Identity Theft Resource Center found that consumer reports of job posting fraud increased 118% in 2023 compared to the previous year. Worse still, the organization found that thieves are using AI to generate increasingly legitimate-looking communications, including fake job ads.
“The rapid improvement in the look, feel, and messaging of identity fraud is almost certainly the result of the introduction of AI-driven tools,” the ITRC wrote in its report. June Trend Report. As AI tools become more widely available and easier to use, researchers say, scammers have used them to refine their communications. The result is that scammers sound more authentic and credible, particularly when talking to potential victims in other countries.
In fake job postings, scammers often use the “paperwork” trick to convince victims to provide personal information, such as their social security number, driver’s license and bank account number, so they can transfer the money directly.
“Most victims did not find it strange. We live in a new era of remote working and it is very normal to use technology to communicate,” the ITRC said in its report.
According to the group, the main defense against this type of scam is to pick up the phone and verify the contact directly with the source.
These scams are just the latest in a long list of ways AI tools are being used by people acting in bad faith. Businesses across the internet have struggled to keep up as people have used AI to create disinformation and misinformation, including computer-generated images of real people in fake situations. Some of these AI-powered attacks have become deeply personal, with the likenesses of global celebrities including Taylor Swift being stolen for deepfaked pornography, music, and other content.
Media and technology experts warn that this is only likely to get worse, especially as AI becomes adept at learning to manipulate the people it comes into contact with.
“These (scammers) are going to be very good at convincing people,” said Geoffrey Hinton, a former Google scientist who is considered the “godfather of AI.” told CBS’s 60 Minutes last year. “They’ll have learned from all the novels that were ever written, all the books of Machiavelli, all the political intrigue, they’ll know all that stuff and they’ll know how to do it.”
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Concerns about AI’s potential misuse and other issues haven’t stopped big tech companies from integrating the technology into their product offerings. Amid their enthusiasm, the approach has already produced decidedly mixed results. Google, for example, eventually apologized and delayed the release of its AI Overviews summaries for search results after the feature spread racist conspiracy theories and dangerous health information.
Meanwhile, Facebook and Instagram have changed their approach to labeling posts detected as edited or created by AI, after they incorrectly labeled a photo of a former White House photographer Pete Souza.
Even startups like OpenAI have revealed high-profile attempts by hackers with ties to foreign governments to spread disinformationefforts that, if successful, undermine our shared view of reality.
Growing scams
Some forms of job fraud start with fake ads on reputable job boards, such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter.
Fraudsters then convince victims to go through a fake interview or application process, where they are asked to share personal information that can be used to steal their identity. In some cases, scammers also ask for login credentials for websites such as ID.me, which is partnered with the American government to verify the digital identity of people who interact with each other the tax, Veterans Affairs And the Social Insurance Bank.
According to the ITRC, many people only realize something is wrong after the scammers have the information they want and stop responding.
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While job and business opportunity scams represent a small percentage of fraud that occurs online, this segment of scams is growing. In 2022, people told the U.S. Federal Trade Commission They had lost $367 million in job and business scamswith the median loss estimated at $2,000.
According to the ITRC, the information scammers steal is increasingly being used for “more serious” scams, including fraudulently applying for new car loans and credit card bills.
As AI becomes increasingly capable of remembering information and recreating people’s identities, including their voice, criminals will have even more tools at their disposal to steal identities and commit fraud.
