by Tech giants are trying to impose artificial intelligence, but many people are not concerned at all. Unfortunately, AI has found its audience among fraudsters, as reported.
According to Michigan State Police, a resident recently received a text message via WhatsApp containing a disturbing video. The recording appeared to show his driveway and a truck being attacked by a “group of individuals.” The details are unclear, but law enforcement stated that the criminals seemed to have slashed the vehicle’s tires.
The person who sent the video then demanded $500, presumably to stop the attack. However, something was off, and the potential victim believed the video could have been created using artificial intelligence. As a result, he did not send the money and contacted the police.
Troopers responded and conducted a perimeter check but “found no evidence that anyone had been at the scene.” The vehicle was also inspected, but no damage was found.
Given this, Michigan State Police believe the incident was “an attempted fraud using manipulated or AI-generated content to intimidate victims for the purpose of extorting money.” They also urged people to report similar messages to the police, “not send money, not click on links, and not respond to unwanted messages.”
While it is alarming that the fraudsters apparently knew where the victim lived and what car he drives, it is quite possible they simply found the address via Google Street View.
Of course, even in that case, they likely knew a lot about the individual, including their phone number. This case illustrates how accessible technologies for creating convincing, yet completely fake, visual content capable of causing real panic have become.
Similar incidents are becoming increasingly common as generative artificial intelligence tools become more powerful and accessible. This is forcing law enforcement and cybersecurity organizations to develop new methods of detection and prevention. For ordinary users, the key remains to stay vigilant, verify information from multiple sources, and never succumb to pressure created through a screen. Social engineering has always been a tool of fraudsters, and now it has received a powerful technological boost in the form of photo- and video-realistic AI.
