According to cybersecurity solutions provider McAfee’s forecasts for 2024, frauds created by AI, like deepfake media, could pose a more significant threat of cyberbullying, phishing, and identity theft to youngsters.
“From phishing emails so real that even the experts will have trouble telling fact from fiction to deepfakes that could impact everything, including the future of our children and beyond, it has never been more important for people to be educated about the threat landscape,” said Steve Grobman, chief technology officer at McAfee.
Deepfakes – or realistic fake films, photos, and audios of actual people or places made using “deep learning technology “- and other scams would enable cybercriminals to control social media and affect the general public like never before by 2024, McAfee warned in its analysis.
“People should brace for celebrity and influencer names and images being used by cyber crooks to endorse scams and local online marketplaces that could become hotspots for AI-driven trickery,” according to the report.
Deepfakes can wreak havoc on their victims’ lives. Worse, specific tools and solutions enable even inexperienced users to produce deepfake voice, video, and photo scams with just a few images or audio samples.
According to McAfee, this might lead to an upsurge in cyberbullying among minors by making shockingly accurate false content. “The escalating intensity of these false images and words can pose significant, lasting harm to kids and their families, harming their privacy, identity, and wellbeing,” according to the report.
It also projected that ‘charity frauds’ would grow more common in the coming year, with cyber crooks preying on victims’ empathy, fear, and pain. Charity fraud can occur when a criminal creates a false charity website or a fake page to deceive well-meaning supporters into believing they are helping real organizations.
Scammers can also use generative AI technologies to generate malware and dangerous websites faster and better. “While AI can do wonderful things like write love poems, help answer homework questions, and create art with a few prompts, it can also quickly code, which poses a growing threat,” the research authors stated. “It also makes the creation and dissemination of convincing phishing and smishing emails faster and easier.”
According to McAfee, the excitement surrounding the 2024 Olympics will generate possibilities for scammers to go after fans anxious to acquire tickets, arrange trips, access hot material, and participate in giveaways.
