MOST INDIANS SAY AI HAS MADE IT HARDER TO SPOT SCAMS, 40 PERCENT BELIEVE THEIR VOICE WAS CLONED
Artificial Intelligence (AI) ushered in a new era, changing the way the world works. From writing essays and poems to simplifying code and composing music, AI can carry out several tasks that were earlier thought to be exclusive to humans. However, alongside its many benefits, concerns have emerged regarding the potential misuse of AI technology. In the last year, many online scams have been reported across India. While in some cases the scammers asked the victims to click on certain links, others were some sophisticated scams involving voice cloning and deepfakes. According to a survey conducted by McAfee in India, more than half (64 percent) of respondents said AI has made it harder to spot online scams. On the other hand, 40 percent of respondents said they believe their voice was cloned and used to try and trick someone they know to part with personal information or money.
In March this year, a chilling case was reported in which a woman said that she was convinced by scammers that they had kidnapped her daughter. A TOI report at the time had revealed how Sarita Khanna, a housewife hailing from MP, was made to believe that her 19-year-old daughter studying at college in Indore had been kidnapped. Khanna told TOI that she received a call in which she thought that she could hear her daughter crying. Turns out, her daughter was never kidnapped and scammers were using voice cloning to extort money from Khanna.Â
This was just one of the many incidents reported in the past. Several scams also involved deepfakes, yet another term in the tech world that emerged with the rise of AI image generators.
As per McAfee, the rise of Deepfake scams is alarming, with a significant uptick in cases involving the impersonation of both ordinary people and high-profile public figures spanning business, politics, entertainment, and sports. This concerning trend is on the rise in India, where the circulation of deepfake content on platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram has reached unprecedented levels as people often forward information without trying to verify it first. Adding to the complexity are paid troll armies, which actively contribute to disseminating deepfake scams.
The McAfee survey says that nearly 8 of 10 (80 percent) Indians are more concerned about deepfakes than they were a year ago. In addition to this, 57 percent of respondents said they came across a video, image, or recording of a celebrity and thought it was real. 31 percent also reported losing money to a scam. Meanwhile, 37 percent of respondents also said their likeness was used to create sexually explicit content that was shared with others.
As the prevalence of deepfake scams continues to escalate, it underscores the urgent need for robust measures to combat misinformation and protect individuals from falling victim to fraudulent activities facilitated by AI-driven manipulation.
2024-04-25T11:08:36Z dg43tfdfdgfd