Trust Then Verify

WEBVTT
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Hey, welcome to Technology Taps.
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I'm Professor J.
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Rod.
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In this episode, the new age of scams, how AI changed the game.
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Let's tap in.
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Welcome to Technology Tap.
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I'm Professor J.
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Rod, and I want to start today's episode with a question.
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If your son or daughter called you right now and said they were in trouble, will you recognize their voice?
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Most of us will say yes, of course I would.
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I know that voice for years, but what if it wasn't them?
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What if a criminal had only a few seconds of their voice from TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, or podcast, or some other video?
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And what if artificial intelligence can use that sample to create something that sounded enough like your family member to fool you?
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Now imagine your phone rings and then you answer and you hear, Mom, I've been in an accident.
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Or grandpa, please don't tell mom and dad I've been arrested.
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You recognize that voice.
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The person sounds scared.
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They're crying.
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Then someone claiming to be an attorney gets on the phone.
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They need money immediately.
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What do you do?
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That's the world that we're entering.
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And today on Technology Tap, we're talking about AI-powered scams.
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Voice cloning, deep fakes, fake job interview, AI-generated phishing emails, romance scams.
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And we're going to talk about something equally important.
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How do you fight back?
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Today we're entering the new age of scams.
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Let's establish something immediately.
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Artificial intelligence did not invent fraud.
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The grandparent scam existed before AI.
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Romance scams existed before ChatGPT.
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Phishing existed before AI.
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What AI has done is changed the economics of scamming.
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Think about what a scammer tree is going to be needed.
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They needed time, they needed writing ability, they needed language skills, they needed research, they needed people to make phone calls.
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And if they wanted to impersonate somebody convincingly, that was difficult.
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AI has reduced some of those barriers.
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A criminal can potentially use AI to create hundreds of variations of a message.
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They make grammar better.
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They can personalize messages, they can create fake profile profile photographs.
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They can generate convincing-looking documents.
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They can translate these scams.
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And increasingly they can manipulate video.
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I saw a video of a woman who was scammed, who thought she was talking to Brad Pitt, and they made a video of Brad Pitt in in the hospital bed.
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So that's why I don't think we should call every AI scam a completely new scam.
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A lot of them are old scams wearing new technology.
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And understanding that is actually good news because the technology may change, but the psychological manipulation underneath it often doesn't.
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I want you to remember five things throughout today's show.
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Urgency, fear, authority, emotion, and secrecy.
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Those five elements appear again and again.
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Urgency.
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You have to do this right now.
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Your account is about to be closed.
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Your grandson needs bail.
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Why urgency?
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Because scammers don't want you thinking.
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They want you doing, reacting.
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Fear.
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You're gonna be arrested.
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Your computer has been hacked.
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Your bank account has been compromised.
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Fear pushes people into reaction mode.
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Authority, this is your bank, this is Microsoft, this is the police.
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Authority discourages questioning.
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Emotion, I love you, I'm scared, I'm hurt.
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Emotion is especially powerful in family and romance scams.
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And secrecy, don't tell anyone.
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The investigation is confidential, don't call your daughter.
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Whenever somebody urgents urgently demands money and then tells you not to discuss it with anybody else, alarms should be going off.
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AI does not eliminate these techniques, it makes them more convincing.
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Let's go deeper into the voice cloning.
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People naturally trust voices.
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If you get a text from an unknown number saying, Grandpa, I'm in jail, you might be skeptical.
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Right?
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You might doubt yourself a little bit.
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But what happens when you hear what sounds like your grandchild or your son or your daughter, niece, nephew crying?
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That's different.
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Now you're emotionally involved.
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The mistake people make is believing.
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I recognize their voice, therefore I verify the person.
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Those are no longer necessarily the same thing.
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In the AI era, recognition is not verification.
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That's a phrase worth remembering.
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Recognition is not verification.
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So what do you do?
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You hang up.
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I know that sounds harsh.
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Your family member supposedly needs help.
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And Professor J.
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Rod is telling me to hang up, yes, because you're not abandoning them, you're verifying them.
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Call the person using the number already saved in your phone.
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Call another family member.
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Ask a question an impersonator is unlikely to know.
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Use a family safe word.
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And don't let the caller dictate how verification happens.
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If someone says don't call mom, that's exactly when you call mom.
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Would you fall for this?
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Your phone rings, the call ID says your daughter's name.
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You answer, she's crying.
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She says, Dad, I was in an accident.
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Please don't get mad, the police are here.
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And then another person takes the phone.
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Mr.
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Rodriguez, I'm representing your daughter.
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We need$4,000 immediately.
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Would you send it?
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Here are the warning signs.
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Unexpected emergency.
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Extreme emotion.
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Urgency.
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Request for money.
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Pressure against independent verification.
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The voice may sound real.
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The call ID may look real.
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Neither one of them should be enough.
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Hang up and independently contact your daughter.
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That's verification.
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Fishing.
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For years, one piece of fishing advice was look for bad grammar.
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That was the number one thing that we used to do.
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Oh, take a look at it and see what words are misspelled.
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That's becoming weaker advice.
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AI can produce professional-looking language.
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A phishing email today can be polite, it can be grammatically correct, it can have appropriate tone, it can sound like your boss.
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So now we have to teach phishing differently.
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Instead of asking, does this email contain spelling mistake?
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Ask, what is the message asking me to do?
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Is it asking me to click a link, open a file, send money, change bank information?
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That's where the danger lies.
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A beautiful email can still be malicious.
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Now imagine the attacker researches you first.
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Your LinkedIn profile says where you work, your Facebook page reveals your family, Instagram shows where you vacation.
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Your organization website identifies your supervisor.
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Your podcast tells people what you're working on.
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Each piece by itself might seem harmless.
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Together creates context.
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Now AI can potentially help an attacker organize that information and construct something personal or personalized.
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Instead of dear customer, you receive, Juan, I'm heading into a meeting.
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Can we handle something?
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Can you handle something for me?
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It appears to come from someone you know.
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Then I need you to purchase gift cards, or I need you to review this document, or send me your phone number.
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Personalization creates credibility.
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That's why we have to stop thinking of phishing only as the badly written Nigeria Prince email.
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Modern social engineering can look professional.
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Now let's move from audio to video.
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For years, people have said don't believe everything you read online.
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Then it became don't believe every picture.
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Now, don't automatically believe every video either.
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Deep fake technology can manipulate a person's face, voice, expression, or parents.
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That creates enormous potential for impersonation.
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Imagine you're an employee and you receive what appears to be a video message from an executive.
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That executive tells you, we're working on a confidential acquisition.
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I need you to make this transfer immediately.
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You can see them, you can hear them.
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Why wouldn't you believe them?
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Because in cybersecurity, we don't authenticate financial transactions based solely on appearance.
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The solution isn't becoming paranoid about every video.
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The solution is verification procedures.
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Large financial transactions require secondary verification.
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Changes to payment instructions require confirmation through a known channel.
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One person shouldn't be able to override controls merely because a video looks convincing.
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Technology changes.
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Good security procedures still matter.
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This one is especially important, the fake job scams, because people looking for jobs are vulnerable to urgency and hope.
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Imagine you apply to dozens of positions, and somebody contacts you and says, review your resume and think you're perfect.
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Great salary, remote work, flexible schedule, immediate hiring.
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The interview might happen entirely through messaging.
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Then comes, we're sending you a check so you can purchase your computer equipment.
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You deposit the check.
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Your bank initially makes the funds appear available.
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You're instructed to purchase equipment from a specific vendor.
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Maybe that vendor is controlled by the scammer.
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Eventually, the check is discovered to be fraudulent.
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Now you're responsible for the money that you spent.
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AI can make these operations more convincing by producing professional job descriptions, recruiter messages, interview questions, and company documents.
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So verify the employer independently.
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Go to the company's actual website, find the career pages yourself.
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Don't rely exclusively on links sent by recruiters.
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Check whatever their position actually exists.
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And be extremely suspicious of an employer asking you to send money, buy gift cards, move cryptocurrency, or process checks as a part of getting hired.
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So you will receive this message.
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Congratulations.
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Based on your resume, we like to offer you a remote cybersecurity position paying$95,000 a year.
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You never had a live interview.
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They say that because the hiring process is completely remote.
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Then we'll send you a$4,800 check to purchase your laptop and home equipment.
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Will you deposit it?
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Don't.
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Verify the company, verify the recruiter, verify the job through contact information you located independently.
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A big salary doesn't make an opportunity legitimate.
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Romance scams are powerful because the criminal isn't attacking a computer.
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They're tanking loneliness, trust, and emotional connection.
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Traditionally, maintaining multiple fake relationships took significant effort.
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Now, imagine AI generating messages, translate conversations, create AI images, or maintaining different personas.
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The scale changes, but it's something important.
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The scam usually doesn't begin with send me$10,000.
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It begins with good morning, how did you sleep?
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I was thinking of you, trust develops, and then there's a crisis, medical emergency, business plan, travel problems, frozen account.
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The request for money arrives after the emotional investment.
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That's why telling victims, how can you fall for that isn't helpful at all.
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The better question is what manipulation techniques were used.
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Now imagine scrolling through social media and seeing a famous person apparently endorsing an investment platform.
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You see their face, you see their voice.
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They're explaining how much money people are making.
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Maybe there's a fake news article accompanying it.
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AI generated or manipulated media can make forced endorsements more believable.
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Remember, a celebrity appearing in a video doesn't prove that the celebrity endorsed the product.
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And guaranteed returns should immediately concern you.
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Words like zero risk, guaranteed profit, secret system, act today, double your money, those are warning signs.
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They aren't investment strategies.
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Before sending money independently, research the company, registration, and platform.
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Don't let a video perform your due diligence for you.
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You have to do it yourself.
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Here's another one.
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You search online.
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Amazon customer support, Microsoft support, PayPal, bank support.
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You click a result and call.
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Someone answers professionally.
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They know exactly what to say, but you didn't reach the company.
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You reached the scammer.
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AI can potentially make fake customer service operations more efficient, but the defense remains straightforward.
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Don't search randomly for sensitive support numbers if you can avoid it.
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Use the company's official app.
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Use the number printed on your bank card.
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Type the company's known website yourself.
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If someone's claiming to be support and wants remote access to your computer, cryptocurrency, gift cards, or one-time security code, stop.
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So the banks will send a one-time code to verify who you are.
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They do that when you call.
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But you you call them, right?
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They're not gonna call you for that.
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You're gonna call them.
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How do we fight back the verification mindset?
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If you remember, only one concept from today's technology tap.
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Remember this.
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Trust, then verify.
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Actually, for unexpected financial requests, verify before you trust.
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We need to build verification into our daily lives.
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Your bank calls, you can hang up and call the number on your card.
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Your grandson calls needing money, call his regular number.
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Your boss requests a wire transfer, verify through established company procedures.
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A recruiter offers you a job, visit the company's website independently.
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A celebrity recommends cryptocurrency, verify independently.
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You don't have to become a cybersecurity expert.
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You just need to create friction.
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Scammers want speed.
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Your defense is slowing things down.
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Families should have a cybersecurity conversation before an emergency happens.
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Create a family verification word.
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Don't choose something obvious.
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If someone calls pretending to be a family member, ask for it.
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Don't rely on only one method.
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Agree on our verification process.
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If someone calls claiming there's an emergency, hang up.
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Call the family member directly.
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Contact another relative.
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Verify independently.
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Also, discuss money, make a family rule.
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No emergency payment gets sent based solely on an unexpected phone call.
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Not cryptocurrency, not gift cards, not wire transfers, not cash handed to a courier.
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Verification becomes first.
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AI scam defense also involves reducing what criminals can access.
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Review what you make public.
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Do you publicly list your birthday, phone number, family members, employer, vacation plans?
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None of these automatically creates a scam, but information can help make impersonation more convincing.
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Use strong, unique passwords.
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Use a password manager if appropriate for you.
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Definitely enable multi-factor authentication.
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That's a big one for me.
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And always keep device updated.
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Protect your email account, especially carefully.
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Why email?
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Because your email can become a gateway to password resets and other accounts.
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And never give someone a one-time authentication code simply because they claim to work for your bank or another company.
00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:35.519
That code may be the exact thing preventing them from accessing your account.
00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:39.359
This is one reason why rolls scamproof for seniors.
00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:43.440
Older adults don't need to become cybersecurity professionals.
00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:45.039
They need practical rules.
00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:46.640
Here's one of the simplest.
00:17:47.039 --> 00:17:49.839
Stop, hang up, and verify.
00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:51.759
Someone scares you, stop.
00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:54.400
Someone wants immediate money, stop.
00:17:54.880 --> 00:17:59.200
Someone says your grandchild is in jail and he's in jail, hang up.
00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:03.279
Someone claims to be your bank, hang up and call the bank yourself.
00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:07.440
Someone says your computer has a virus, don't give them remote access.
00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:15.759
And families need to help without making older relatives feel embarrassed because they're not gonna go for you for help if you keep embarrassing them.
00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:25.599
If grandma thinks she's being made fun of for asking whatever something's a scam, she may not ask when something is really wrong.
00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:27.519
We want people asking.
00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:35.279
I'd rather answer a hundred questions about legitimate messages than have someone lose their savings because they are afraid to ask one.
00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:37.440
Businesses need to think differently.
00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:41.599
Imagine an employee receiving an urgent message that appears to come from the CEO.
00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:43.359
Why are$80,000?
00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:51.680
That the email, the employee hears the CEO's voice, maybe even sees something resembling the CEO on video.
00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:53.039
Should that be enough?
00:18:53.359 --> 00:18:53.680
No.
00:18:54.079 --> 00:18:57.839
Organizations need procedures that survive impersonation.
00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:01.279
Financial transfer should require proper authorization.
00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:05.599
Changes to vendor banking information should be independently verified.
00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:08.880
Employees should know how to report suspicious communications.
00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:13.839
Cybersecurity awareness training needs to include AI-generated impersonation.
00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:17.680
The question should simply shouldn't be, does this look real?
00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:23.200
The question should be, has this request been authenticated according to our procedure?
00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:26.000
That's a much stronger security model.
00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:30.240
Now let's talk about something people often avoid.
00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:32.240
What if you already fell for it?
00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:33.839
Well, you gotta act quickly.
00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:38.480
Contact your bank or financial institution, tell them you believe you were defrauded.
00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:41.359
If a card was involved, contact the card issuer.
00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:51.599
If an account was compromised, change the reveling credentials from a trusted device, review account activity, preserve messages, emails, phone numbers, receipts, and transaction information.
00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:55.279
Report the incident through appropriate official channels.
00:19:55.440 --> 00:19:58.079
And don't fall for the second scam.
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This is important.
00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:07.359
After someone loses money, another criminal may appear and say, we specialize in recovering money from scam victims.
00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:08.960
But first they need a fee.
00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:11.279
Now the victim is being targeted again.
00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:12.000
Why?
00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:17.039
Because criminals know that someone who already lost money desperately wants it back.
00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:24.000
Be extremely careful with anyone guaranteed that they can recover stolen money for unfront payment.
00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:27.279
Now let's do a technology tab rapid fire.
00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:28.960
Scenario one, your bank calls.
00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:30.960
Call ID shows your bank.
00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:34.559
They need a six-digit call that was just text to you.
00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:39.759
Scam warning, never assume the caller ID authenticates the call.
00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:46.880
Scenario two, your boss emails you asking for ten, one hundred dollar gift cards.
00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:49.200
You verify that independently.
00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:57.440
Scenario three, your grandson, son, daughter, niece, nephew calls you crying and asks for bail money.
00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:00.000
That voice sounds exactly like him.
00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:02.240
Hang up and call him directly.
00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:03.599
Scenario 4.
00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:09.519
A recruiter offers you a hundred thousand dollars a year remote job after a text message interview.
00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:12.240
Verify the employer independently.
00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:13.440
Scenario 5.
00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:19.680
A famous billionaire appears in a video promising guaranteed cryptocurrency returns.
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:22.720
A video is not a verification.
00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:24.000
Scenario 6.
00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:27.920
Microsoft calls you because your window computer has a virus.
00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:29.680
You weren't expecting to call.
00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:32.079
Don't provide remote access.
00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:33.599
Scenario 7.
00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:37.839
Someone you're dating online suddenly needs emergency money.
00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:39.839
Stop and investigate.
00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:41.039
Scenario 8.
00:21:41.119 --> 00:21:44.720
A text says UPS couldn't deliver your package.
00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:46.799
Pay 30 cents to reschedule.
00:21:46.880 --> 00:21:48.720
Don't automatically click that link.
00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:53.920
Go to the carrier's official site yourself and check the tracking information.
00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:59.759
I also don't want this episode to leave you with thinking that artificial intelligence.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.440
Is inherently bad.
00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:09.359
AI has legitimate uses: education, accessibility, research, cybersecurity, medicine, business, creative work.
00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:12.319
Technology itself is in the scam.
00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:15.440
The problem is how criminals use technology.
00:22:15.599 --> 00:22:17.440
We've seen this throughout history.
00:22:17.759 --> 00:22:20.480
Email created incredible opportunities.
00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:22.319
It also created phishing.
00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:25.039
Online banking created convenience.
00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:27.599
Also created new fraud opportunities.
00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:31.119
Social media connected billions of people.
00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:34.640
It also created new avenues of impersonation.
00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:38.000
AI is another powerful technology.
00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:44.720
The challenge is learning how to use it while understanding how it can be abused.
00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:47.200
That's digital literacy.
00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:53.839
And increasingly, AI literacy is becoming part of cybersecurity literacy.
00:22:55.119 --> 00:23:00.000
Let's finish today's technology tap with the 10 rules.
00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:05.039
Rule 1, a familiar voice is not authentication.
00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:10.720
Rule two, a familiar face is not authentication.
00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:13.680
Rule three, call ID can be misleading.
00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:18.160
Rule four, professional grammar doesn't make email legitimate.
00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:23.119
Rule five, urgency is a reason to slow down, not speed up.
00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:28.880
Rule six, never let the person requesting money control the verification process.
00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:34.160
Rule seven, verify financial requests using a separate trusted communication channel.
00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:38.559
Rule eight, protect your passwords and authentication codes.
00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:41.920
Rule 9, talk about scams before they happen.
00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:45.519
And finally, rule 10, when something feels wrong, stop.
00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:48.240
You don't all the caller an immediate answer.
00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:50.559
You don't all the text or a response.
00:23:50.720 --> 00:23:52.079
You don't have to click the link.
00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:53.680
You don't have to send money.
00:23:53.839 --> 00:23:55.920
You don't have to stay on the phone.
00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:58.960
You have something scammers hate.
00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:00.799
You have time.
00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:02.559
Use it.
00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:06.960
Artificial intelligence has changed what we see.
00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:09.119
It's changed what we can hear.
00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:12.319
It changes what criminals can create.
00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:16.480
So our security habits have to change too.
00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:18.720
The question is no longer simple.
00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:20.079
Does this look real?
00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:25.519
The question is, how do I know that this is real?
00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:28.720
That's a very strange question.
00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:34.880
And might be one of the most important cybersecurity questions of the AI era.
00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:36.319
I'm Professor J.
00:24:36.480 --> 00:24:39.599
Rod, and you've been listening to Technology Town.
00:24:39.920 --> 00:24:47.039
If you want more information on scam preventions, you can go to my website.
00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:04.240
Because one conversation today can prevent someone from becoming a victim tomorrow.
00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:05.440
I'm Professor J.
00:25:05.599 --> 00:25:09.680
Rod, keep tapping into technology, and I'll see you next time.