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Fraud by artificial intelligence in China: Steals 600,000 USD by pretending to be friend of businessman.

Fraud by artificial intelligence in China: Steals 600,000 USD by pretending to be friend of businessman.

The victim believed she was talking to her friend and became suspicious when she saw him on a video call

A Chinese scammer was used Artificial intelligence for Impersonate a businessman’s trusted friend and convince him to hand over millions of yuan, officials said.

The victim, surnamed Guo, received a video call last month from what appeared to be a close friend.

But the caller is actually a scammer “He used clever artificial intelligence technology to change his face” and his voiceAccording to an article published on Monday by a media portal affiliated with the government of the southern city of Fuzhou.

The fraudster “perpetrated the fraud by posing as (Guo’s) good friend,” the article said.

Guo was forced to hand over 4.3 million yuan ($609,000) after the fraudster said another friend needed money to come out of a company’s bank account to pay off a mortgage for a public tender.

The fraudster asked for Guo’s personal bank account number and sent him a screenshot of the fraudulent payment record, claiming that the equivalent amount had been transferred to that account.

Without verifying that he received the money, Guo paid the requested amount twice from his company’s account.

“Then, I checked the video caller’s face and voice so I let my guard downKuo mentions in the article.

There are some programs to detect “deepfakes”, but they are not widespread (Photo: Olher Digital)

He realized his mistake only after sending a message to a friend whose identity was stolen, unaware of the transaction.

Guo notified the police that he would not proceed with the transfers to a bank in another city, and was able to recover 3.4 million yuan., according to the article. He added Trying to recover the remaining fundsBut the fraudsters were not identified.

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Ever since the American company OpenAI launched a chatbot in November called ChatGPD, which imitates human speech, attention has been drawn to the potential dangers of innovative AI technology.

China has announced ambitious plans to become a world leader in AI by 2030And many tech companies, including Alibaba, JD.com, NetEase and TikTok Thai Byte Dance, have rushed to create similar products.

ChatGPT is not available in China, but the American software enjoys a Chinese user base, who access it using virtual private networks to write essays and study for exams.

But it is also used for more nefarious purposes.

This month, police in the northwestern province of Gansu announced that they had taken “forceful action” against a man who used ChatGPT to create a fake news story about a fatal bus crash that was widely shared on social media.

The Act to regulate deep forgeriesEntered into force in January, it is prohibited to produce, publish or transmit false messages using this technology.

A bill proposed last month by Beijing’s internet regulator would require all new AI products to undergo a “security assessment” before being released to the public.

(With information from AFP)

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