Generative AI Scams Are Your Biggest Threat: What You Need to Know

By now, you’ve probably heard a lot about this popular new trend called generative AI. It’s the force behind technology like Chat GPT, AI voice and video content, image rendering, and so much more. But what does it have to do with you and your business?

Well, this technology is easy for fraudsters to get their hands on. And unfortunately, they can commit dangerous fraud attacks with it — attacks that cost businesses millions of dollars. If you don’t think it could happen to you, think again. These schemes are running rampant. And even the smartest and brightest of business owners and employees are falling victim to them.

What is Generative AI Technology?

Generative AI is a form of artificial intelligence (AI) that can create images, videos, audio, and more. Essentially, it eliminates the need for tools like cameras, actors, and other equipment to create content. One such form of generative AI is deepfake technology — videos, audio, and images that have been manipulated to mimic another person’s likeness.

Deepfakes are what fraudsters use to carry out elaborate scams. For example, a fraudster might create a deepfake video or clone the voice of a business executive and request funds to be transferred to a new account.

It begs the question: what can we trust? How can we tell what’s real and what’s fake? We’ll dive more into that later.

How AI Scams Could Affect Your Business

Financial institutions and money service providers are especially susceptible to AI scams and are usually the conduits of successful attacks. However, anyone can become a target. Fraudsters use a variety of platforms — from social media like Facebook to messaging apps, email, and more — to contact their victims.

So what could happen if you became the victim of a scam?

You could lose millions of dollars in a single event.

It may seem unlikely that AI-generated content could trick an employee into giving out sensitive information, let alone company cash. But that’s exactly what happened to one finance worker in Hong Kong earlier this year.

In just one event, a fraudster could use generative AI to scam your company and steal millions of dollars. And unfortunately, you won’t get that money back. Because it’s extremely difficult — if not impossible — to trace those scams back to the fraudster.

You could lose trust in employees.

Trust is essential to a productive working environment. But an AI scam could easily erode the trust you’ve spent years building between you and your employees.

Fraudsters typically don’t target executive-level employees in an organization. Instead, they go after lower-ranking employees who have access to sensitive information. And if that happens, you might have a difficult time trusting your employees again. You may even need to implement new security protocols that cause friction amongst your workforce, demote or fire an employee, or block access to certain information.

Your brand reputation may not recover.

Imagine your business is hit with a voice cloning scam wherein a fraudster impersonates an executive and steals hundreds of thousands of dollars from the company. Your business is all over the news. How would that look to your customers?

Negative press can cause a lot of damage. It can harm customer loyalty, impact morale, cause higher employee turnover, and lead to a decline in sales. These damaging effects can also be long-lasting, forever impacting the reputation of your brand.

You might pay extra expenses to improve security.

After a major event, you should reevaluate your internal security measures. Often, that means you need to upgrade your security software, implement new training materials for employees, hire new employees, and more. And though the effort is well worth it, these costs can quickly add up.

What You Can Do to Protect Your Business

AI scams can be a terrifying threat — especially considering that the technology behind them is always improving. Deepfake content is increasingly becoming harder and harder to identify. How can you trust what you see and hear? And when it comes to business processes or special requests, how can you help your employees differentiate between what’s real and what’s fake?

Enhance your verification processes

First and foremost, you want to improve your verification processes — both internally and externally. You want to make sure the right employees have access to sensitive information and that you’re doing business with the right customers.

For internal processes, this may look like:

• Adding a checks and balances system so that multiple employees have to approve high-value fund transfers.
• Implementing multiple authentication methods for access to top accounts and sensitive information.

For external processes, this may look like:

• Implementing robust verification tools — such as multi-factor authentication, biometric verification, KYC checks, and more — during the onboarding process.

Educate your customers about these sophisticated scams

Education is key to preventing AI scams and other fraud attacks. Most customers may simply be unaware that these kinds of threats are out there, so it’s up to you to help educate them.

You can start by:

• Sending regular emails about security awareness and current popular scams.
• Providing online safety tips around giving out personal information, sending money, and more.
• Creating a place for customers to file a complaint or submit concerns regarding online safety and scams.

Additionally, make sure your employees are aware of the various types of scams out there and how to handle them. The better informed your employees are, the less likely they are to fall victim to a scam.

You can start by:

• Providing regular security awareness training and frequent updates on fraud scams.
• Creating a step-by-step response plan so that employees know how to handle suspicious activity.

Invest in advanced detection tools

AI is constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated. The best way to give yourself a fighting chance against harmful AI scams is with AI detection tools. Think about it. Humans simply don’t have the same resources, energy, and power that artificial intelligence has when it comes to identifying and preventing digital fraud.

So how do you choose an AI solution that works for you? We recommend finding a tool that:

• Can identify a variety of risk signals around all types of events — from account creation to login and beyond.
• Works in real time so customers don’t experience unnecessary friction.
• Evaluates incoming and outgoing data so that you can verify money or information is going to the right place.
• Uses machine learning to continually improve results and learn from new behaviors.

Want to Learn More About AI?

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