ReportWire

Tag: Phone scams

  • 5 Ways to Spot and Avoid Deepfake Phone Scams | Entrepreneur

    5 Ways to Spot and Avoid Deepfake Phone Scams | Entrepreneur

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    As AI technology advances, the rise of deepfakes poses an ever-evolving threat. These manipulated images, videos, and audios use artificial intelligence to create convincing but false representations of people and events.

    Of particular concern is voice spoofing, also known as voice cloning, which uses AI to create a realistic-sounding recording of someone’s voice. Fraudsters have used voice deepfakes to replicate familiar voices, such as a relative or a bank representative, tricking consumers into parting with money or providing sensitive information.

    In one recent incident, scammers tricked a couple of grandparents into thinking their grandson was locked in prison and needed money for bail, using a replica of his voice to plead for help.

    “We were sucked in,” the poor grandma told The Washington Post. “We were convinced that we were talking to Brandon.”

    How do you protect yourself against such sophisticated trickery?

    “Consumers should be cautious of unsolicited calls saying a loved one is in harm or messages asking for personal information, particularly if they involve financial transactions,” says Vijay Balasubramaniyan, co-founder and CEO of Pindrop, a voice authentication and security company that uses artificial intelligence to protect businesses and consumers from fraud and abuse.

    He offers these five signs that the voice on the other end may be AI.

    Related: How Deepfake Tech Could Affect the Journalism Industry

    Look for long pauses and signs of a distorted voice

    Deepfakes still require the attacker to type sentences that are converted into the target’s voice. This often takes time and results in long pauses. These pauses are unsettling to the consumer especially if the request on the other end is urgent and has a lot of emotional manipulation.

    “But these long pauses are tell-tale signs of a deepfake system being used to synthesize speech,” says Balasubramaniyan.

    Consumers should also listen carefully to the voice on the other end of the call. If the voice sounds artificial or distorted in any way, it could be a sign of a deepfake. They should also be on the lookout for any unusual speech patterns or unfamiliar accents.

    Be skeptical of unexpected or out-of-character requests

    If you receive a phone call or message that seems out of character for the person you know or the organization contacting you, it could be a sign of a deepfake attack. Especially if you are subjected to emotional manipulation and high-pressure tactics that are trying to compel you to help the caller, hang up and independently call back the contact using a known phone number.

    Verify the identity of the caller

    Consumers should ask the caller to provide personal information or to verify their identity using a separate channel or method, such as an official website or an email. This can help to confirm that the caller is who they claim to be and reduce the risk of fraud.

    Stay informed about the latest deepfake technology

    Consumers should keep up-to-date with the latest developments in voice deepfake technology and how fraudsters use it to commit scams. By staying informed, you can better protect yourself against potential threats. The FTC lists the most common phone scams on their website.

    Invest in liveness detection

    Liveness detection is a technique used to detect a spoof attempt by determining whether the source of a biometric sample is a live human being or a fake. This technology is offered by companies such as Pindrop and others to help companies detect whether employees are speaking to a real human or a machine pretending to be one.

    “Consumers also need to ensure they do business with companies that are aware of this risk and have taken steps to protect their assets with these countermeasures,” says Balasubramaniyan.

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    Entrepreneur Staff

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  • How to Use New Technology to Combat Phone Scammers | Entrepreneur

    How to Use New Technology to Combat Phone Scammers | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    In 2019, Congress passed the TRACED Act to give the Federal Communications Committee (FCC) additional tools to combat robocalls. It’s a problem plaguing public sector call centers and constituents; people still receive millions of robocalls (automated or pre-recorded messages) and scam calls (made by criminals) every year in the U.S.

    It is incumbent that government agencies utilize the technological tools available today to combat fraudulent, phone-related activity, boosting public trust and the constituent experience.

    The not-so-smartphone problem

    The household landline is steadily declining; roughly one-third (37%) of homes still have one. In an incredible technological revolution, smartphones have become the preferred telephone device for most homes and individuals. Smartphones are powerful, but their ability to root out scam calls is still decidedly inefficient. Today’s smartphones don’t pull caller ID data from a centralized registry of phone numbers. Instead, they rely on information from your contact list to identify incoming calls. Essentially, you tell your phone who’s calling — not the other way around.

    Most people don’t realize cell phones lack a caller ID, causing problems for public agencies trying to reach beneficiaries or constituents. To deal with the over 3 billion spam calls received per month, most people simply ignore numbers they don’t recognize.

    Due to this breakdown in public trust, many government agencies won’t initiate contact via phone. Rather, they’ll return calls from consumers who request help. However, if a recipient misses a call, they’re faced with the daunting prospect of returning it — only to navigate endless menus and jump through hoops to reach a live person on the other end. The result is a further breakdown in trust and loss of confidence in the efficacy of public sector call centers.

    Phone service providers have developed technical ways to alleviate the problem of eroded trust. Many major providers employ a certification system for phone numbers registered to customers. This development resulted from the STIR/SHAKEN caller identification framework set forth by Neustar Management and mandated by the FCC as part of the TRACED Act.

    With caller ID authentication standards like STIR/SHAKEN, phone service providers verify a caller’s actual number matches the caller ID information, enabling higher trust for the receiver of the call. It’s a small step, but it indicates how the public sector can better leverage technological tools to solve these problems. Unfortunately, the scammers have a vote in this process too, and they’re not going away without a fight.

    Related: Rising AI Threat Sounds Like Your Loved One on the Phone — But It’s Not Really Them

    Robocalling isn’t going anywhere

    Robocalls and scam calls aren’t subsiding anytime soon — they’re too lucrative for the fraudsters who perpetrate them. In 2021, fraudulent calls cost Americans over $29 billion. Without positive identification in the form of verified caller ID, the public is never sure they’re talking to a legitimate service. The result is a concerning loss of trust in government call centers.

    Fraud doesn’t stop at government call centers. Law enforcement agencies have seen an alarming jump in a spoofing technique known as swatting. The basic concept is the same, but the agency is the initial victim of the scam — with potentially deadly consequences for those whom agencies are charged with protecting.

    Many government call centers have tried to combat spoofing practices by eliminating initial contact with customers via telephone, but millions of people fall for these scams every year. Some agencies send public reminders that they won’t call about an issue, but scammers make their calls convincing enough to succeed.

    Related: How To Avoid Spam Calls And Focus On Important Ones

    How technology can help

    All is not lost. Scam calls are a technical problem that requires a technical solution. There are many tools public agencies and private organizations can implement to rebuild trust with consumers. One example is emerging technology in providing better caller ID by applying a token to verified phone numbers or displaying a branded logo on the receiver’s phone. Services like this allow organizations to ensure outbound calls aren’t mislabeled as spam calls or blocked by the telephony system and that they actually originate from the correct entity.

    It’s similar to your fingerprint: difficult to fake and uniquely tied to your identity. Calls can be certified as they’re routed by verifying the phone number belongs to the person (or call center) placing the call.

    Major cell phone providers often use each other’s databases as trusted sources, too, so this tool isn’t limited to a single provider. It can also stop spoofed outbound calls at the source and identify likely fraudulent calls so people can screen them appropriately.

    Another emerging caller ID technology has worked remarkably well for the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). During the height of COVID-19, the VDH reached out to patients and close contacts daily. When only an unidentified phone number was displayed, many calls went unanswered, wasting the department’s time and resources.

    When the VDH branded the calls as they displayed on recipients’ phone screens, presenting the department’s logo and name on the recipient’s smartphone, its first-time answer rate jumped 105% almost immediately.

    Related: This Saas-Based Startup Is Disrupting Call Centre Market With AI-Based Voice Bots

    Tools to repair trust

    Scammers are constantly innovating, but the technology sector innovates alongside them. Call carriers, third-party service providers and the federal government continue to develop new anti-spoofing tools, processes and policies to protect consumers — and public sector agencies must be sure to use them. Through constant vigilance, they can combat fraudulent phone calls, bolster public trust and improve the customer service experience.

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    Scott Straub

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