Posted on 11/15/2024 12:54:33 PM PST by nickcarraway
'I've got all the time in the world.'
Scammers worldwide are making off big. Last year alone, the Federal Trade Commission estimates US consumers lost a record $10 billion due to fraud, a 14% increase from just one year prior. More and more, scammers are targeting older, vulnerable people over the phone. Over than two-thirds of UK residents over the age of 75 surveyed in a recent research paper claimed they had experienced at least one fraud attempt in the past six months. 40% of those respondents faced frequent fraud attempts.
Now, an AI-generated UK grandmother named “Daisy” is trying scammers’ jobs a bit more tedious. UK mobile operator Virgin Media O2 created Daisy in order to speak with bad actors and waste as much of their time as possible. Using ChatGPT-like large language models, Daisy will ramble on about her passion for knitting and tell long-winded, fabricated stories about family members with the goal of keeping scammers on the line. In theory, every minute spent frustratingly chatting with Daisy about its made-up family or daily chores is one less minute a scammer could be targeting a real person.
“The newest member of our fraud-prevention team, Daisy, is turning the tables on scammers–outsmarting and outmaneuvering them at their own cruel game simply by keeping them on the line,” Virgin Media O2 Director of Fraud Murray Mackenzie said in a blog post."
AI grandmother was trained on real scam calls
O2 says it worked with professional scam network disruptors to have phone numbers linked to the AI added to known lists of numbers targeted by scammers. If a scammer tries to call one of those numbers they will immediately start interacting with Daisy. Recorings of conversations with the scammers posted by O2 show Daisy trolling exacerbated scammers by talking about its fictional cat “fluffy” and generally dancing around their questions. Daisy will also provide scammers with false personal information and bogus banking details to make them think they are actually defrauding a real person. These conversations can rattle scammers. O2 provided clips of recording where frustrated scammers can be heard yelling expletives at the AI on the other end.
“Stop calling me ‘dear’ you stupid [expletive],” one scammer can be heard saying.
“Got it, dear,” Daisy responds.
To do all of this, Daisy first uses a voice-to-text AI model to transcribe the scammer’s speech. It then takes that text and runs it through another AI model that drafts a response using relevant content. Another text-to-speech model then vocalizes that response with the sound of a senior woman. All of this processing happens in seconds so scammers think they are speaking with a real person. Daisy was trained using real recordings of “scam baiters” collected by O2.
O2 deliberately used an older woman because they are often disproportionate targets of scams. In this case, Daisy was programmed to engage in meandering, long-winded conversations designed to keep scammers talking. The model has reportedly already kept numerous scammers on the line for over 40 minutes.
Callers in the UK targeted by scammers can send their assailers to the AI by forwarding the call they receive to the number 7726. That then sends the call to the Daisy hotline. O2 says it’s hopeful Daisy can make a meaningful difference amidst a surge in fraudulent phone activity. Around one in five British respondents surveyed by O2 in its recent research reported being targeted by a scam every week.
AI is also contributing to new scams
While Daisy is tasked with stopping fraud, scammers are using similar AI tools to launch a variety of new attacks. So-called AI “voice clones” which use snippets of audio to mimic a person’s voice, have been used in recent years to commit bank and wire fraud. In several extreme examples, scammers have even used AI to trick people into believing their loved ones had been kidnapped or held hostage. The victims, believing their son or daughter is in imminent danger, then pay the scammers a fake ransom. Scams like these are becoming more common. One in four respondents recently surveyed by cybersecurity firm McAfee claimed they or someone they knew had been targeted by an AI voice clone scam. Tools like Daisy could theoretically help stem that tide by sending other AI scam bots down winding rabbit holes.
“Let’s face it dear,” Daisy said in one recording. “I’ve got all the time in the world.”
Our government can put a man in the Moon (supposedly). Yet they can do nothing to stop these filthy scammers from preying on the vulnerable.
My advice to Trump 2.0: Set up a team of clever computer guys (you wouldn’t need many) to figure out how to counter-strike those pigs.
Oh, and maybe invest a few dollars in public service ads. I myself wouldn’t know anything about this racket if I hadn’t accidentally come across a few YouTube videos.
When my niece was about 1, 1.5 years old, my brother had a marvelous technique for telemarketers and scammers. He handed the phone to his little girl. She thought it was sooooo special that she got to do what the adults do! She would make all kinds of sounds, and a few words. Sometimes, we could not stop laughing as the telemarketer continued his sales pitch.
There was one other time, a salesman came to the door. My brother has one of those very secure screen doors with a deadbolt lock. As the salesman started his spiel, dad had his daughter do the same thing. Fun!
My password is “GFYS”................
Sounds like Jolly Roger bot, 214 666 4321
Hopefully the banks are in on it. Prohibit wire transfers out and When the scumbag scammer tries to withdraw money in person from the fake account he gets immediately arrested.
My dad loved getting junk calls. He would start telling them about his ailments and how they occurred. I would sit at the table and spit coffee laughing so hard.
Back when I used to get scam calls I would just say, in the most doofus voice I could muster: “I ain’t got no money” over and over until they hung up. My wife hated it but to me it was good fun.
Consider this analogy (the phone system or the internet as the "highway"):
You wish to / need to drive on the highway, along with all your fellow citizens.> Oh, and maybe invest a few dollars in public service ads.There are some nasty people also driving who like to throw rocks at you, swerve into you and run you off the road, maybe shoot at you. They have cars just like yours, can't tell them apart from the type of car. The only way to identify them is when they attack you; until then they're just another driver on the road.
Propose a means for "how to counter-strike" the bad guys without restricting your rights to drive.
Turns out it's damn difficult, often impossible, until damage has been done.
Here it is: "DRIVE DEFENSIVELY". Whether you're on the highway or the phone or the internet, practice defensive "driving". Be skeptical by default. Interacting with the outside world is dangerous.
There is a huge existing body of public information about how to be on the defensive, but people have to read it or see it on TV. Most people ignore it.
Whaddyagonnado?
Love Kitboga!
My friend got a call from some vitamin scammers. Since he was sitting and watching a football game and had nothing else to do, he decided to play along. He asked many intelligent questions. Often the scammer had to go ask his supervisor. My friend would start giving him his credit card number, then think of another question right in the middle of the number that would send the scammer back to the super.
He managed to keep the guy occupied for 3 hours. They finally hung up.
> Propose a means for “how to counter-strike” the bad guys without restricting your rights to drive. <
There are YouTubers who call-flood scammers. That would be a good start. Just do it on a larger scale.
For those not in the know, call-flooding is using a computer program to call a specific phone number over and over, thousands of times. This usually shuts the number down, at least temporarily.
This counter-strike would have limited value against scammers who call you, as they usually spoof their own numbers. But it would be VERY effective against scammers who must use their real numbers in email scams.
Scams like: “You have won a $1000 Visa gift certificate. Call (whatever) to claim your prize.”
Or,
“This is your last notice from the IRS. Call (whatever) to avoid legal action against you.”
Call-flood ‘em.
Call flooding can work in a few specific cases, like the email ones you mentioned. But it comes at a cost to you, and it’s only a temporary measure. Either you purchase an outbound phone line which costs you actual dollars, or you use a calling service like Skype, but in short order the scammers figure out your outbound number and block it, and I’m sure they already know how to identify computer service outbound calls, and similarly block them. So although flooding would work, it would only work for a little while and it would probably be more trouble or cost than it’s worth.
My 80+ year old husband loves to aggravate the scammers if they call when he doesn’t have anything else to do.
In our area the scammers often co-op local private phone numbers that list the owners name.
One time he got a call that caller ID said came from himself!
One time about 10 years ago, I was at a relatives house waiting for a ride. Everyone was asleep, including babies, so I was just sitting there doing nothing. I got a call from a scammer, so since I was bored I indulged. I would argue for a while, then ask to speak to a manager. I was on the phone with them for 45 minutes, and was up three levels in management.
I LOVE Kitboga.
Call coming from out the country should be limited to 3 calls per day from any given phone number that is not authenticated to be legit. That would stop them. Also charging for all incoming over seas calls beyond a set allowance would slow them down. Back in the day when the originator had to pay for these calls then the scam model would have never worked.
Phew! So complicated. Just don’t take calls from unknown numbers. Isn’t that what voicemail is for?
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