Beware AI scammers.
Credit: Rokas Tenys – Shutterstock
Watch out for the latest in phishing attacks on your Google account as scammers adopt AI-powered machines to fool you into opening up your details.
One Microsoft solutions consultant warns of a new threat that uses an artificial intelligence bot to phone Google users, convincing them to give up their details.
Robot voice attempted to get him to reset Google account
Sam Mitrovic was very nearly taken in by the robot voice that attempted to get him to reset his Google account. He writes on his blog that he received an email and then a phone call from a voice that purported to be someone from Google Security. Initially, he ignored it and hung up. He had already seen email alerts in his inbox claiming to be from Google and warning him that he should reset his password, but he had ignored them.
A week later, another call followed the same email messages. This time he thought he would entertain the caller who told him his account had been compromised and that someone had been downloading his emails. The caller then asked Sam if he had been travelling and in Germany. Normally, this would make most of our hearts skip a beat. It sounds believable. The voice then asks him to reset his Google account using the link on the email, but Sam didn’t. Instead, he just hung up the phone.
Google security voice was too perfect
The voice was too perfect. It was an AI-generated speaker. He Googled the phone number, and it wasn’t from a registered Google phone. In fact, Google doesn’t make this type of call, ever. He checked the email address of the message, and while at first glance it appeared genuine, on closer inspection, it was a fake.
The lesson learned was not to panic. Don’t feel forced into making a knee-jerk decision that could open your private data up to ruthless con artists. Scrutinise the email address the warning comes from, and remember that Google won’t call you out of the blue like that.
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