Nicola Mawson
In a technological improvement of age-old scams, fraudsters are creating a sense of authenticity by having people communicate with an agent who isn’t real and has been created through artificial intelligence (AI).
ICT veteran commentator, Adrian Schofield, told Personal Finance that scams are as old as the hills, and have simply been enhanced through technology. “In 2024, your device helps the fraudsters by relaying everything you do and say to enable the targeted ads to pop up. The data gatherers justify what they are doing to assist their advertisers, all the while just raking in their share of the spoils. Unless they get prosecuted, the providers will never admit they are complicit in crime.”
Schofield explained that, with the use of AI, fraudsters don’t even need a physical person at the end of the chat. “They can create personas as well as images and use this technology to effectively automate conversations that seem very real.”
According to Kount, a fraud detection company, fraudsters use real photos of people to generate highly realistic fake portraits. Generally, addresses and phone numbers check out to real residential locations.
“These synthetic identities could even have their own social media accounts and friend or follower networks. Each level of detail added to a synthetic person becomes a new challenge for business owners and fraud solutions providers working to keep criminals at bay,” it stated on its website.
“With AI and chatbots, it has become very easy to convince the mark that he/she is interfacing with a real person and that real people are scoring the money,” Schofield said.
Through AI, Schofield explained, charlatans can target thousands of people at the same time, preying on their need to improve their financial situation, especially at this time of year when people are concerned about a six-week January.
In the case of many of these “offers,” there is simply no way of contacting a person beyond the fake one behind the chat, he said. “Once you have been drawn in and make a large investment that then requires additional money to get your cash out, you have lost your money.”
Schofield noted that it is often impossible to track down a company. “They register a website through an anonymous service, such as name.com, and the relevant contact details are redacted. There simply is no customer service contact. All you have is a fake person”.
In one example brought to Personal Finance’s attention, the consumer was led to a Telegram chat to engage with a service representative, who had an ID card that was clearly fake. The card for the person, identified only as “Annie” had a stamp on it from the non-existent “Government of South Africa Shopping Online Division”.
Antivirus company Bitdefender noted on its website that, when communicating with “people” over Telegram, they use Telegram bots.
In some cases, this can be devastating to people as they may have invested their so-called rainy day savings or, even worse, their accessible retirement funds, especially through the Two-Pot system, Schofield noted.
Kount’s analysis of customer profiles of one credit issuer showed that there were more than 62 000 accounts tied to synthetic identities, driving over $8 million in losses each year.
“In addition, using targeted adverts on platforms like Facebook allows the criminals to find targets, such as those who have been seeking ways to supplement their salary through quick investments with big returns,” Schofield said.
This, he stated, is an advanced form of social engineering.
“In spite of our advanced education and exposure to news and other media, many of us are still envious of the wealth of others and that makes us gullible when we see an opportunity that is ‘too good to be true’. That characteristic has fuelled many ‘Ponzi’ schemes, and many “guaranteed” investments. In 2024, the ‘wool’ is an apparently easy way to earn money, despite the underlying truth that we know there are no easy ways,” said Schofield.
Here are some tips to help identify fake Telegram accounts:
1. Profile picture and username
Look out for generic or stolen profile pictures. Use reverse image search to check if the photo appears elsewhere online.
Check if the username (starting with @) and display name don't match. Inconsistencies between these are a warning sign.
2. Activity and messages
Fake accounts often have limited activity: few posts, contacts or profile details.
Be wary of unsolicited messages containing suspicious links, requests for personal info, or promotions of dubious schemes.
3. Contact details
If contact info like phone numbers or emails are provided, independently verify they are legitimate. Fake accounts commonly use false contact details.
4. Profile information
Incomplete profiles lacking detailed personal information can indicate a fake account. Genuine users tend to fill out their profiles.
Poor grammar and spelling mistakes in their descriptions or messages may signal a fake profile.
5. Verification and official accounts
Some public figures or businesses have verified accounts with a blue checkmark. Check if the account claiming to represent them is genuine.
Cross-check details provided against the official websites or social media of the person/organization.
6. Use Scamio to detect scammers
Scamio, a free scam detector from Bitdefender, can help you identify potential scammers on Telegram. if Scamio flags the account as a scammer, immediately cease all communication and do not share any information or funds.
Source: Bitdefender
PERSONAL FINANCE