LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — As artificial intelligence explodes worldwide, a Las Vegas Valley cybersecurity expert explained how scammers can take advantage of the technology to create targeted attacks.
Bad actors can use AI to curate personal information about their victims within seconds and then use it to try to exploit them. Greg Moody, UNLV’s lead professor of information systems and director of cybersecurity academic programs, says it’s about trust.
“Attacks are all about making someone trust you,” Moody said. “How do you get someone to trust you? Make them believe that they’re part of your in-group. How do you do that? You talk to them and say, ‘I know this about you, so therefore we’re similar, so can you do me a favor?’”
Moody demonstrated the technology to FOX5. An AI Chatbot called ‘Chat GPT’ pulled up bullet points worth of personal and professional information in less than one minute, after Moody typed in “Molly McBride,” along with some additional information.
Unfortunately, Moody said it is too late to delete personal information from the internet.
“Say you’re on Facebook, that’s my age group, and you make a post, and I go back and I delete it. Is that information actually gone?” Moody shook his head no. “Who owns the information once I post it? Facebook.”
But, he said, it is not too late to avoid being scammed.
Moody suggests being wary of inquiries with a sense of urgency. If something feels off, double-check it. Reach back out to the person using a different method of communication to confirm it is actually them. And, avoid wiring money.
“That’s why they ask for wire transfers, because once the money is wired, they’re going to immediately empty that out of the account. And once it’s out of a bank account, the bank says, ‘we can’t do anything about it, you wired it,’” Moody said.
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