Thanks to AI, scams are getting better
Think scammers won't target you? Here's a scam attempt today and why it might've worked.
Think scammers won't target you? Here's a scam attempt today and why it might've worked.
My friend Adrian Choo had a scammer target his company just this morning.
While some readers expressed incredulity that it could have worked, I personally think it isn't far-fetched a possibility.
Here's why I think the scammers might just have pulled it off.
- AI-written: The scam email was well-written, likely using generative AI. The minor errors introduced reads like the usual typos you find in a genuine email, making it more believable.
- Misleading From: While the fake "From" is a clear giveaway, some devices - such as smartphones - don't necessarily show it. Moreover, the scammers used an email name with "office . com" to confuse less wary.
- Researched: Kate reports to Adrian. While it won't take much effort to work that out, this shows scammers are going beyond "spray and pray", but into spear phishing territory.
- Plausible secrecy. One tell-tale sign of a corporate scam is to keep it a secret. In this case, the cited reason was highly plausible. It didn't work only because it's a small, tight-knit team.
Instead of remitting money in this case, the scammers were targeting gift cards which can be easily resold or exchanged for other digital goods.
If Kate had fallen for it, she would be out of pocket for whatever amount of gift cards she purchased.
I'm happy nobody fell for it here.
What do you think? Have you encountered a scam attempt yourself recently?
Screenshot, Image Credit: Adrian Choo, Unsplash/GuerrillaBuzz
