4 most common AI scams that pose a risk to businesses

Last updated on: April 2, 2024

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an exciting tool used throughout a variety of industries to produce amazing results. Unfortunately, AI is not always used for good. Today, many bad actors and digital pirates use AI to power and run their scams against businesses and customers. 

The rise of AI scams presents a variety of issues for businesses looking to protect their brand, customers, and intellectual property (IP). In order to safeguard your business from bad actors it is important to learn about the most common AI scams that are plaguing businesses today. The more you learn about each scam the easier it will be to prepare for them. 

In this blog, we’ll be delving into the most common AI scams that pose a risk to businesses by touching on a number of topics, including:

• What are AI scams? 
• 4 common AI scams that pose a risk to businesses
• How to mitigate the impact of  AI scams on businesses 
• How Red Points protects businesses from AI scams?

What are AI scams? 

An AI scam is a strategy used by a bad actor to take advantage of a business or individual. Often, these same AI scams involve some level of impersonation as AI technology is making it increasingly easy to create convincing copycat text, malicious code, and fake content. 

These AI scams differ from traditional scams in the way they are produced and distributed online. For example, AI makes it much easier to produce digital scams at a large scale in a short amount of time. This means that a single bad actor can produce thousands of AI-powered scams and launch a comprehensive, targeted attack against a business. In the same amount of time, a traditional scam would have a far smaller potential impact on a business. 

4 common AI scams that pose a risk to businesses

Unfortunately, today many businesses are having to deal with a variety of AI scams. Below we’ve highlighted some of the most common AI scams that are currently posing a risk to brands online.   

1. AI-driven phishing scams

Phishing scams involve sending fake emails or other fraudulent communication to individuals or businesses to attempt to induce recipients into giving over sensitive information. The evolution of AI in recent years has made it easier for bad actors to produce convincing phishing scams at scale. 

For example, in recent months the new AI-powered natural language processing (NLP) platform ChatGPT has been helping scammers produce deceptively convincing content to include in their phishing scams. 

AI platforms like ChatGPT streamline the creation of phishing scams by reducing grammatical errors and effectively imitating a brand’s voice. A typical phishing email might be packed full of convincing, detailed text about an opportunity and an attractive sale. 

Then embedded within this text there might be a button labeled “Download now for Windows” or “Click here to unlock this opportunity”. This will allow the scammer to deliver malware or redirect the recipient to a dodgy website that steals their information. 

2. Fake websites: 

AI platforms also enable scammers to improve their skills in building fake websites. For example, ChatGPT is capable of producing code and instructions that will make it easier for bad actors to learn how to quickly build websites that may be used to mislead customers and target businesses. 

Ask ChatGPT to teach you how to create a website to sell a product or service, and within seconds the platform will produce a 12-step process for you to follow. 

As you can imagine this service is easily misused by scammers who have malicious intentions. Within minutes they can begin the process of creating fake websites that target legitimate businesses. 

3. Deep fake/voice cloning: 

Another unique AI scam involves deep fakes and voice cloning. Notable CEOs of major businesses have already fallen victim to these kinds of tricks. For example, in 2021 fraudsters used AI voice cloning to impersonate a company director in the U.A.E to steal $35 million from their business. AI technology makes it easier to produce altered videos and voice memos that impersonate executives. These convincing messages and videos allow bad actors to say anything they want under the guise of legitimacy. 

4. AI-driven password cracking/hacking: 

Another common AI scam is to use this technology to crack passwords and hack through security systems. The advantage of AI programs is that they are able to process vast amounts of data very quickly. This is ideal for password cracking and hacking – skills that are difficult to achieve with simple, manual methods. 

Recently, an AI-driven tool was tasked with cracking a large database of passwords. This tool was able to crack over half the passwords fed to it in under a minute. The efficiency and effectiveness of AI is a big plus for scammers looking to attack legitimate brands. 

It is important for businesses to regularly audit their internal security protocols to ensure they are not vulnerable to AI attacks. You can also use a solution like Red Points’ Digital Rights Management software to protect against logins and passwords being stolen, misused and resold. 

All of these scams pose a risk to businesses because of the ease with which they allow scammers to impersonate a brand’s voice, erode the trust consumers place in a business and expose frailties in your security system. To combat the efforts of scammers that use AI you have to be prepared, informed and proactive. 

How to mitigate the impact of AI scams

To mitigate the impact of AI scams on your business you need to act fast. One of main threats of AI impersonation scams is the speed with which they operate. Therefore to ensure you can minimize their impact on your business you need to act as soon as they appear. 

• Firstly, you should try to learn as much as possible about the various AI scams being used and how each might impact your business. This will help you prepare your security and compliance processes to deal with specific problems. 

• Secondly, you should start educating your employees and your customer service representatives about the threat of AI scams. An informed workforce is one of the best ways to combat digital scams because it allows your business to reduce internal vulnerabilities. 

You will then be able to trust that everyone involved in your business knows how to act when confronted by an AI scam. Bad actors will then be less likely to attack your brand and will move on to easier targets. 

• Thirdly, you should establish a strong online presence. This means getting verified on the various social media platforms you use. This also means proactively engaging with consumers across social media and your own website. The stronger your online presence is, the harder it will be for scammers to take advantage of you. 

• Fourthly, leverage AI as a force for good. You can use automated AI services to monitor your online presence and detect scammers. As you learn more about AI it will be easier for you to counter AI scams. AI will also enable you to be more efficient and precise in the way you search for and take down scammers, especially if you use specialized solutions like those provided by Red Points. 

How does Red Points protect businesses from AI scams?

Red Points’ Impersonation Removal Software will help you to safeguard your business from AI scams. Our industry-leading solution has been tailored to ensure that brands are able to respond quickly and effectively to modern digital threats. Many businesses have already made use of our software to take down AI scams and protect themselves from the new and deceptive methods of bad actors 

In this solution we use a simple and effective three-step process to protect your business from AI scams: 

• Monitor and Detect

We monitor the web 24/7 with an automated bot-powered search geared toward uncovering impersonations in seconds. We monitor social media, marketplaces, and stand-alone websites to ensure that you have a comprehensive understanding of any potential AI scams that could be targeting your business. With machine learning each search is more potent than the last, ensuring that no AI scammers escape. 

• Validate and Enforce

Once our detection system has revealed potential impersonators, we allow you to filter through thousands of potential infringers to determine those you wish to pursue. You can leverage our image recognition and list system to validate certain scams before the enforcement process begins. 

Following validation, we will then move to take down the impersonators you have identified to make sure that your business and your customers are safe. This process can be tailored to work automatically based on the rules you set up, ensuring quick and effective action. 

• Report and Measure

Through our reporting and dashboards feature you will then be able to review and measure the impact of your enforcement actions. You will be able to see success rates and observe where you can make improvements for the next time you want to enforce against AI scammers.

What’s next

Every day AI scams are becoming more prevalent in the digital world. Businesses must be aware of the threat that these AI scams pose to their intellectual property and their customers. Some of the most common AI scams like phishing scams, fake websites, and deep fakes rely on the unique capacity of impersonation facilitated by AI platforms like ChatGPT. 

So, what can you do to combat this? Firstly you can start to educate yourself and your employees. Then you can begin to take proactive steps to establish your online presence, engage with consumers and leverage your own AI tech for good. If you still feel vulnerable to exploitation by AI scams you can then invest in a digital solution that is tailored to fight AI scams. 

Red Points’ Business Impersonation Removal Software empowers you to takedown AI scams whether they come in the form of fake accounts, malicious apps, or fraudulent websites. To learn more about how Red Points can protect you from all kinds of AI scams, request a demo here.