They say that the certainties in life include death and taxes. Another certainty is that fraudsters are opportunistic, and holiday sales provide a great opportunity for fraudsters to target individuals around the world. Although we know that their strategies are often very predictable, in 2023 the importance of generative AI, such as ChatGPT, gives fraudsters an added advantage.
In India, 82% customers have fallen victim to online scams and 42% have fallen victim to AI-powered voice scams. What’s more concerning is that a large portion of customers don’t know how to spot an online scam. Actually, 44% of Indian customers looking to shop this holiday season say they are unsure of the best ways to shop safely online.
“Often, scams that appear around these holidays can be riddled with spelling and grammar inaccuracies, but the availability of generative AI narrows the gap between novice scammers with poor spelling and grammar and their gives a competitive advantage they’ve never had before. Fraudsters will use these tools in their scams this year and will be more successful than in previous years. », Satnam Narang, Senior Staff Research Engineer.
One of the byproducts of the generative AI gold rush is the spread of various media, including video, to help improve things like deep fakes. Earlier this year, Tenable senior research engineer Satnam Narang discovered how MrBeast, the world’s biggest YouTube star with over 188 million subscribers, impersonated TikTok to promote a fake iPhone giveaway 15. Deepfake is a big improvement over what we’ve seen in the past. This Diwali, it would not be surprising to see scammers continuing this trend and exploiting the image of celebrities and other social media influencers to promote freebies and scams.
An old tactic that remains prevalent every year is the promotion of free $500 to $1,000 gift cards from various brands, from Apple and Sephora to Cash App and Spotify, on various social media platforms, including Instagram and TikTok. These gift cards are not free, as they require users to reveal personal information and purchase premium offers, such as free trials, which will cost them money in the long run if they do not comply with the fine print and cancel.
“Social media is the perfect place to surprise distracted users. Today, cybercriminals can start their scams on one social network and direct users to another. Fake profiles are common and fraudsters can create hundreds of accounts to legitimize their scams. These existing tactics, combined with the current boom in generative AI and the use of deep fakes, create a dangerous situation for users,” added Satnam Narang.
For Diwali consumers, it is important to recognize the following:
- Be aware of cyber tactics of criminals. Personalities like MrBeast who give things away, links that take you off the platform, social profiles without engagement, without posting or without following can represent a red flag. When in doubt, prevention is always better than cure.
- Be extremely careful and skeptical of deals and giveaways on social media. With the availability of generative AI like ChatGPT and other great language models, scams that you might normally recognize due to poor spelling and grammar won’t be so easy to spot, and improvements in Deepfake technology means that fake video content is likely to appear on your social media feed.
- Free does not mean free. If you see ads or promotions for free things like popular technology, clothing, or gift cards, know that there is no such thing as free. There is always a price to pay, which may include having your personal information or credit card information taken. So be wary of such offers.
- Always use trusted websites and services. If you are looking for products and deals for Diwali sale, go to the source and visit the trusted and reputed sources before making a purchase.
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