AI: deepfake scam in China raises concern – 05/22/2023 – Tech

A scam in northern China that used sophisticated deepfake technology to convince a man to transfer money to an alleged friend has sparked concern about the potential for AI (artificial intelligence) techniques to aid financial crimes.

The country has stepped up regulation of such technologies and apps amid a rise in AI-based fraud, mainly involving the manipulation of voice and facial data, and adopted new rules in January to legally protect victims.

Police in the city of Baotou in the Inner Mongolia region said the scammer used AI face-swapping technology to impersonate a friend of the victim during a video call and receive a transfer of 4.3 million yuan (US$ 622 thousand, BRL 3 million).

The victim transferred the money in the belief that his friend needed to make a deposit during a bidding process, police said in a statement Saturday.

The man only realized he had been tricked after his friend expressed ignorance of the situation, police added, saying they had recovered most of the stolen funds and were working to trace the remainder.

The case sparked a Weibo discussion about the threat to online privacy and safety, with the hashtag “#AI scams exploding across the country” gaining more than 120 million views on Monday.

“This shows that photos, voices and videos can be used by scammers,” wrote one user. “Can information security rules keep up with these people’s techniques?”