DailyPost 2762
DEEPFAKE YAHOO BOYS -CRIMINAL AI HAS ARRIVED!
While we are busy using ChatGPT to churn out what we have not been able to write, the bad actors are at their job to make the best out of Artificial Intelligence. The hacker and cyber scammers are way ahead in the field for even the best users of tech to even get a hang of it, more so the unsuspecting ones. Deepfake has been vogue for quite sometime now, but now with AI’s shooting trajectory and ease of use, the first mover cyber criminals are having a field day, breaking into areas of seamlessness in deepfakes, which would take a long time for law enforcement and investigative agencies even to fathom out.
Latest to be exposed by the WIRED has been the deepfake real-time romance, which has arrived and there is a plethora of information to prove the same. As per the FBI more than $650 million have been lost to romance frauds last year. In a video released shot by the scammer’s accomplice, “his face can be seen on the laptop alongside the fake persona as he speaks to the victim.” The scammer uses face swapping technology to totally change the appearance in real time. The conversation also moves in a contextual manner, having the tone, tenor and content as in normal conversations / relationships of such nature.
Yahoo Boys, a loose collection of con artists leads the way. They are based out of Nigeria. The video shows how using deepfakes and face swapping it tricked victims into romance scams, building trust by fake identities to an extent that they are ready to part of with thousands of dollars. The self-shot video in question is amongst the many pushed into the public domain by them. Yahoo Boys are researchers in their own right, having been experimenting with deepfake video clips for around two years. It was only last year that they shifted to real-time deepfake video calls.
WIRED’s review of videos and three of Yahoo Boys telegram channels gives a clear idea of the evolution of the con artists’ techniques at deepfake applications and usage of artificial intelligence. They use the technology they have mastered over, both on laptops and phones. They have the guts to brag about themselves through conning photos and videos across social media from Facebook to TikTok. They are skilled social manipulators as well which compliments their tech skills and leaves a long-lasting impact on the victims. Some of their videos are obvious fakes while others appear plausible. They have the skills to pull a fast one, as when viewed live, “on mobile phones, with unstable connections, any obvious flaw can be masked.” The background that the scammer spent months social engineering the victim fills any gaps, aberrations or any likely suspicion.
IF WE DON’T CONTROL DEEPFAKE AT THIS STAGE, THEN IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO MAKE EVERY SINGLE SOCIAL INTERACTION A LANDMINE.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.