Last month, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Office of Customer Education and Outreach (OCEO) issued a warning about the growing use of Generative AI to create financial fraud schemes that are successfully duping victims, including both businesses and individuals, out of vast sums of money. These schemes leverage many of the same tactics we have touched on in our Behind the Breach series, such as deepfake attacks that are duping individuals and businesses out of millions.
The Gist
In the advisory, Criminals Increasing Use of Generative AI to Commit Fraud, the CFTC’s Director Melanie Devoe states, “Fraudsters can use new technologies to mask their identities, not only in still photographs, say, in social media profiles, but also in video chats that alter their facial features and voices to match. Identifying real from fake can be difficult. The best defense is to never give money to people you only meet online.”
The CFTC also calls out how AI-powered deepfake technology is fueling relationship investment scams and calls for the public to question all financial-related opportunities coming to them online. On top of that, it advises these recipients not to send money to anyone reaching out to them virtually. Additional recommendations call for consumers to:
- Strengthen privacy settings on social media accounts.
- Keep personal and sensitive information private, especially from online-only contacts or unknown callers.
- Examine images and videos for inconsistencies (e.g., unnatural facial movements or distorted features)
To help further amplify its messages, the OCEO CFCT is also forging partnerships with other government entities, including federal and state legislators.
Trustmi’s Take
At Trustmi, we agree that education and awareness are vital components in any campaign to identify and defuse fraudulent threats. So too are stronger privacy settings and increased vigilance when examining these communications. But those alone do not form a sufficient line of defense, especially with attackers launching increasingly more sophisticated deepfake campaigns against both corporate employees and consumers.
As the old saying goes, you must fight fire with fire, or in this case, fight AI-powered social engineering attacks with AI-powered solutions that can keep your money safe. This includes leveraging behavioral AI to detect anomalous activity, prevent fraud, and ensure the safety of all assets, including your money.
Take a moment to learn how Trustmi safeguards your business’s bottom line, people, and processes from sophisticated threats.
