Remember when hackers sent those clunky emails from a "Nigerian prince"? Well, the prince got a promotion—and now he’s fluent in generative AI, speaks like your boss, and knows your dog's name.
In this publication, we're uncovering a scam that has been making waves and could potentially affect you or someone you know. Let’s dive right in.
Cyber scammers are now using AI to supercharge their attacks—producing highly convincing phishing emails, deepfake calls, and even automating malware development, all at lightning speed.
This new AI-driven wave of cybercrime is targeting businesses, employees, and individuals with smarter, faster, and more personalized scams. And the consequences are only getting more dangerous.
How It Works:
• AI tools like FraudGPT scrape public data from sites like LinkedIn or GitHub to gather intelligence on you or your company.
• This data is then used to craft phishing emails so convincing you’d think they were written by your colleague.
• Deepfakes—using synthetic video or audio—can impersonate company executives in real-time video calls, tricking employees into transferring money or sharing credentials.
• On the technical front, scammers use AI to rapidly find system vulnerabilities and even generate small malware payloads without needing coding expertise.
Who’s Targeted:
- Corporate employees, especially those in finance, HR, or IT
- Software developers and professionals with a public digital footprint
- Organizations of all sizes, though larger enterprises are often the prize
- Anyone with an email address or a LinkedIn profile
Real-Life Example:
In February 2024, an employee at Arup, a global engineering firm, was tricked into wiring $25 million during a video call with fake versions of the company’s executives—generated using deepfake technology.
Despite initially suspecting the phishing email, the video call convinced him. The faces looked familiar. The voices matched. The urgency felt real. But every single attendee on the call was a fraud.
As Stephen Burns of Virtual IT Group put it: “The person is still the weakest part of any process.”
Why You Should Care:
With AI automating the tedious work of hackers, the bar to entry has dropped. Scammers no longer need advanced skills to launch targeted, convincing attacks.
Even tech-savvy users are at risk. And with AI improving rapidly, distinguishing real from fake becomes harder every day.
Your email address, voice, face, or even habits could be used against you—or your company. One mistake could cost millions.
How to Protect Yourself:
- Introduce "meaningful friction" in key business processes—especially for large transactions or sensitive data transfers.
- Use multifactor authentication (MFA) and update your software promptly.
- Train employees to spot AI-assisted phishing attempts with updated examples and role-play simulations.
- Adopt behavior-based threat detection tools that monitor unusual account activity.
- Limit public exposure of personal and executive information on platforms like LinkedIn or GitHub.
Quick Tips & Updates
• Quick Tip: “Did you know? A deepfake voice can now be cloned using less than 5 seconds of audio. Be mindful of what you say on public platforms.”
• Pro Tip: “If something feels off—especially if urgency is involved—pause. Call back via a verified number or speak in person.”
Update from the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD):
Despite the rise of AI-assisted scams, the ASD reminds users that basic cybersecurity principles still work—strong passphrases, software updates, and MFA remain your first line of defense.
Stay safe, stay informed.
Keyword Definitions:
- FraudGPT: A malicious AI tool designed to assist scammers in generating realistic phishing content or cyberattacks.
- Phishing: A cyberattack method where attackers impersonate legitimate contacts to steal sensitive information.
- Deepfake: AI-generated video or audio that mimics a real person to deceive viewers or listeners.
- Behavioral Analysis: A cybersecurity approach that monitors user behavior for unusual patterns to detect threats.
- Meaningful Friction: Security checks added at critical points in a process to reduce the risk of unauthorized actions, even if it slows things down.
To read more, kindly find source article here