What You Can Do to Protect Yourself
While ChatGPT and other AI tools have many positive applications, such as education, entertainment, and research, they also pose significant risks to cybersecurity and fraud prevention. According to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chair Lina Khan, AI tools like ChatGPT are “turbocharging” fraud by enhancing the ability to generate convincing emails, stories and essays as well as images, audio and videos. She warned that these scams are becoming more sophisticated and prevalent, and that consumers need to be vigilant early.
In this blog post, we will explore some of the ways that ChatGPT and other AI tools can be used by bad actors to commit fraud, and what you can do to protect yourself and your organization from these threats that are increasing in both prevalence and sophistication. FraudGPT, a recent and unfortunate development, is an AI bot exclusively designed for offensive activities, available on Dark Web markets and Telegram. It is an AI tool powered by a large language model that is particularly fine-tuned to help cybercriminals commit cybercrime. This weaponized version of ChatGPT creates a contest of fraudulent whack-a-mole at the speed of light, creating an impossible task for AI detection companies that is doomed to fail … a losing battle that all property managers should avoid.
The angles played by bad actors include phishing, voice, identity and document fraud. Let’s consider each in turn.
AI-Generated Phishing Scams
Phishing is a common type of cyberattack that involves sending fraudulent emails or messages to trick recipients into revealing sensitive information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, or bank account details. Phishing scams often rely on impersonating legitimate entities, such as banks, government agencies, or online services.
ChatGPT and other AI tools can make phishing scams more sophisticated and convincing by generating realistic and personalized texts that mimic the style and tone of the entities they are impersonating. For example, ChatGPT can generate fake emails from your boss, your colleague, or your friend, asking you to click on a malicious link, download an attachment, or share some information. These emails can look very authentic and natural, making it hard to distinguish whether these messages are legitimate.
To protect yourself from AI-generated phishing scams, you should always be cautious and vigilant when opening emails or messages from unknown or suspicious sources. You should also verify the sender’s identity and the authenticity of the message before clicking on any links or attachments, or prior to providing any information.
AI-Generated Voice Fraud
Voice fraud is a relatively new type of fraud that involves using synthetic or manipulated voice recordings to deceive or manipulate victims. Voice fraudsters often use voice cloning or spoofing techniques to impersonate someone else’s voice, such as a family member, a friend, or a business partner.
ChatGPT and other AI tools can make voice fraud more realistic and effective by generating high-quality voice recordings that sound like the person they are impersonating. For example, ChatGPT can generate fake voice messages from your spouse, your doctor, or your bank manager, asking you to do something urgent or important, such as sending money, confirming a transaction, or changing a password.
To protect yourself from AI-generated voice fraud, you should always verify the identity and the legitimacy of the caller before following any instructions or requests. You should also avoid answering calls from unknown or unfamiliar numbers or use caller ID services to block unwanted calls.
AI-Generated Identity Fraud
Identity fraud is another common type of fraud that involves using someone else’s personal information to obtain benefits or services, such as loans, credit cards, or online accounts. Identity fraudsters often use fake or stolen documents, such as driver’s licenses, passports, or pay stubs, to ‘prove’ their faked identity.
ChatGPT and other AI tools can make identity fraud easier and more widespread by generating fake documents that look real and valid. For example, ChatGPT can generate fake pay stubs2, bank statements3, or tax returns that can be used to apply for loans or credit cards. These documents can be customized to match the target’s name, address, income, and other details.
To protect yourself from AI-generated identity fraud, onsite teams should seek the truth about applicant identity and income, both of which are delivered by Payscore. Before opening an account, banking institutions are legally required to verify the identity of the future accountholder. By making a name comparison between the accountholder and applicant, Payscore quickly and easily reveals the true identity of your prospects.
AI-Generated Fake Paystubs
One of the most common types of documents that fraudsters use to deceive victims is pay stubs. Fraudsters easily generate fake pay stubs for various purposes, such as applying for loans or credit cards, renting an apartment, filing tax returns, or verifying employment status. They use AI tools like ChatGPT to generate fake pay stubs that look real and valid, often undetectable by auditors, software-based attempts, or even AI-based attempts at verification. By customizing pay stubs to match the target’s name, address, income, and other details, those with malicious intent might occupy your property and then tax your team’s resources with the expense and complication of evictions.
With the advent of AI-generated imagery capabilities enabled by these new tools, it is going to become increasingly more difficult to detect whether documents have been fabricated. To prevent facing the poor outcomes these risks reveal, you need a reliable way to verify income and identity in minutes. That’s why you need Payscore, the leading income verification service for the residential real estate rental industry.
Payscore is a cloud-based platform that uses advanced AI technology to verify income and identity in minutes. It works with any type of income source, including W-2, 1099, self-employed, gig economy, social security, pension, alimony and more. It also integrates easily with popular property management software solutions.
By using Payscore, you can eliminate the risk of fake pay stubs and ensure that you are dealing with genuine and qualified applicants. You can also save time and money by streamlining your application process and reducing your risk of bad debt and evictions.
Conclusion
ChatGPT and other AI tools are powerful, versatile technologies offering many positive impacts. However, they also pose serious risks to cybersecurity and fraud prevention. As these technologies become more accessible and widespread, we need to be aware of their potential misuse and abuse by bad actors. We also need to take proactive measures to protect ourselves and our businesses from these threats.
At Payscore, we are committed to helping you prevent fraud and protect your revenue. We use advanced AI technology to verify income and identity in minutes. We report any type of income source, including W-2, 1099, self-employed, commissions, gig economy, social security, pension, retirement, alimony and more. And our workflow integrates with a seamless user interface with most popular property management software solutions. If you want to see how Payscore reports the truth about income, request a free demo today. You can streamline your application process, reduce your risk, and increase your profitability by using modern services like Payscore.
