'Deepfake' scam in China raises concerns of AI-powered fraud

Deep-fake Scam in China

Within days of the UN advisor's warning, a deep fake scam was reported in northern China, where the victim was a no celebrity. As per reports from the police in Baotou, a region in Inner Mongolia, a man received a video phone call from his friend where the latter urgently needed money to make a deposit in a bidding process.

The man immediately transferred 4.3 million yuan ($622,000). However, when contacted, his friend clarified about never having made such a request, which led to the discovery that AI-powered face-swapping technology had been used to impersonate him during the video call.

The police have already recovered most of the stolen funds, and efforts are underway to trace the rest. However, discussions on the social media site Weibo have exploded, with individuals expressing concerns about the threat to online privacy and security from powerful technology like AI.

Users on social media voiced their opinions that photos, voice, and videos were all at the disposal of scammers, and information security rules could hardly keep up with the techniques already being used today.

The users were referring to China's newer rules in January this year, focusing on tightening scrutiny of apps and more recent technologies. As per the newly implemented rules, stricter curbs exist on manipulating voice and facial data. However, this did not deter the scammers from using technology to dupe an innocent man.

Individuals and even large corporations have been at the receiving end of the ill effects of deep-fake technology. Last year, a report from the FBI's  Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) showed that individuals were using the technology to act like someone else and grab remote work positions.

This is just the beginning of the AI age, and we have not seen its ugly side yet.