Artificial intelligence for better or worse

Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized many industries, but it has also created new opportunities for cybercriminals to carry out email fraud. AI-driven scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated and harder to detect, posing a threat to both individuals and businesses.

Artificial fishing

‍Phishing is a type of cyber attack that involves tricking victims into revealing sensitive information such as passwords, credit card information, or social security numbers. AI can be used to automate the phishing process, making it more efficient and scalable for criminals. For example, AI algorithms can be used to generate personalized phishing messages that are designed to appear legitimate and are targeted at specific individuals or organizations. One of the most common forms of AI-driven phishing is called "spear phishing". This type of phishing involves using AI algorithms to analyze public data and personal information in order to design targeted phishing emails. The AI algorithms can generate realistic emails that are specifically aimed at the intended target and contain information tailored to their interests or professional role.

Who is who?

‍ Another way AI is used for phishing is through the creation of deepfake videos. Deepfake videos are synthetic videos that use AI algorithms to realistically place a person's face on another person's body. Criminals can use deepfake videos to impersonate trusted individuals or organizations in phishing scams. For example, a criminal could create a deepfake video of a CEO asking employees to transfer money to a new bank account, or a video of a government official asking for sensitive information.

A larger fishing net

‍AI is also used to automate email scams, making it easier for criminals to reach a large number of audiences in a short period of time. For example, AI algorithms can be used to generate fake job offers, investment opportunities or lottery prizes in the form of emails. The AI algorithms can analyze public data and personal information to create lifelike emails designed to trick the victim into sending money or revealing sensitive information.

To sum up

‍AI has opened up new opportunities for cybercriminals to carry out phishing and email scams. As AI technology continues to evolve, it becomes increasingly difficult for individuals and organizations to detect and defend against these types of attacks. To protect themselves from AI-driven scams, individuals should be vigilant about unsolicited emails and never reveal sensitive information or send money to unknown people or organizations. Companies should invest in advanced security solutions that can detect and prevent AI-generated phishing and email scams.

Better the "devil" you know

‍Thought-provoking reading, isn't it? But wait, there's more... We tried, as an experiment, to AI-generate a piece of text on the topic of "AI-generated scams" and the result of the experiment is the text you have in front of you, minus this final paragraph. Thus, the future is already here, and can seem both unreliable and threatening. However, it is important not to be paralyzed by what may appear to be a fundamental paradigm shift, a so-called game changer. From another perspective, what we're seeing is just a continuation of the decades-long arms race between cybercrime and IT security. We at Nimblr are monitoring developments in this area, and are convinced that educational and awareness-raising IT security training - alongside technological solutions - is the best way to address both current and future security risks. AI, like regular intelligence, is a tool that can be used for both good and bad, and the same technology used for fraudulent purposes can also be used to protect us from fraud.