Supercharged AI phishing campaigns are extremely challenging to notice. Attackers use AI phishing scams with better grammar, structure, and spelling, to appear legit and trick the user. In this blog, we learn how to spot AI scams and avoid becoming victims.
Checking email language
Earlier, it was easier to spot irregularities in an e-mail, all it took was one glance. As Gen AI models use flawless grammar, it is almost impossible to find errors in your mail copy,
Analyze the Language of the Email Carefully
In the past, one quick skim was enough to recognize something is off with an email, typically the incorrect grammar and laughable typos being the giveaways. Since scammers now use generative AI language models, most phishing messages have flawless grammar.
But there is hope. It is easier to identify Gen AI text, and keep an eye out for an unnatural flow of sentences, if everything seems to be too perfect, chances are it’s AI.
Red flags are everywhere, even mails
Though AI has made it difficult for users to find phishing scams, they show some classic behavior. The same tips apply to detect phishing emails.
In most cases, scammers mimic businesses and wish you won’t notice. For instance, instead of an official “info@members.hotstar.com” email ID, you may notice something like “info@members.hotstar-support.com.” You may also get unrequested links or attachments, which are a huge tell. URLs (mismatched) having subtle typos or extra words/letters are comparatively difficult to notice but a huge ti-off that you are on a malicious website or interacting with a fake business.
Beware of Deepfake video scams
The biggest issue these days is combating deepfakes, which are also difficult to spot.
The attacker makes realistic video clips using photo and video prompts and uses video calling like Zoom or FaceTime to trap potential victims (especially elders and senior citizens) to give away sensitive data.
One may think that only old people may fall for deepfakes, but due to their sophistication, even experts fall prey to them. One famous incident happened in Hong Kong, where scammers deepfake a company CFO and looted HK$200 million (roughly $25 million).
AI is advancing, and becoming stronger every day. It is a double-edged sword, both a blessing and a curse. One should tread the ethical lines carefully and hope they don’t fall to the dark side of AI.
