More people than ever are affected by fraud.
With that in mind, retired Metropolitan Police detective Peter Barron and ex-Fraud chief Steve Proffitt, who now works for online security agency Transaction 360°, teamed up with an unnamed ex-fraudster to create a weblog that included personal identification. Diary of a Crook.
Their goal is to try to lift the lid on the dark world of economic fraud.
They want to use their expertise in catching criminals, as well as the inside information of a nameless fraudster, to inform the public about how fraudsters really operate and help them avoid becoming a victim.
Here, the reformed crook writes a couple of disturbing new extracts for This is Money magazine, where criminals are using the latest synthetic intelligence to spoof someone’s voice and trick mums and dads into believing their little one is in trouble…
Exposing the legal route: A police officer, ex-Action Fraud boss and a reformed gang of fraudsters reveal the latest fraudsters’ methods
Since my retired cop blog friend was also a hostage negotiator, I knew I had to get in touch with him as soon as I heard about this obvious scam.
This makes the mother and father ponder that their little one has been abducted and this is done using the latest knowledge.
Fraudsters are clever criminals who recognize growing alternatives as short-term, sharpest businessmen.
However, unlike entrepreneurs, they are not constrained by legal guidelines, institutional directives, business laws or even a budget.
While technical consultants will spend months and even years perfecting their product before launching it, scammers get it to market in days. It’s no surprise that they’re taking at least two steps forward in enforcement.
I’m sure most people who study it have at least heard of synthetic intelligence. Basically, it is where computer systems perform tasks that were previously performed by humans.
As knowledge increases, so does the volume and high quality of work that computer systems can accomplish.
It sounds a bit far-fetched, but I had it demonstrated to me with my own voice. The artificial message was created from a previous video of me giving a short speech at a friend’s birthday party
One of the primary uses of artificial intelligence was to photoshop celebrity heads onto the bodies of our adult movie stars in current movies.
They were mainly used for “entertainment” and embarrassment, however the extortion potential is obvious.
The latest use of AI for brute force functions works like this.
The scammer looks for a potential victim on social media sites. Admittedly, there is no shortage of wealthy teenagers on social networks flaunting their mother’s and father’s wealth by posing with a new car, showing off a new diamond ring, or standing arms outstretched in designer purses.
These people also want to shoot fast movies. Ideally, they will fly to a unique location or at least go somewhere outside the home.
The fraudster will document the voice of these films and use AI to convert it directly into a recorded message of their alter ego.
What’s lurking in your social media? Scammers look for teenagers who flaunt their lavish holidays and lives, allowing them to focus on mum and dad for money
It sounds a bit far-fetched, but I had it demonstrated to me with my own voice. The shot was taken in less than an hour, and I confessed to the world that I had once truly been Lord Lucan, and that I had buried an unclaimed stash of Brink’s-Mat gold in my backyard.
The artificial message was created from a previous video of me giving a short speech at a friend’s birthday party.
When I discovered that I had made these confessions, I was truly shocked; We all know our own personal voices, as well as our rhythm, rhythm and the best way we say safe phrases. I had no doubt that I used to listen to myself.
“Mom, dad… Someone grabbed me”
In the case of a kidnapping, a fraudster can use the voice of a daughter’s social media video to create a message like this: “Mom, Dad, please help!” I was once captured by someone, and for that they will kill me.
“They want £10,000 to release me. whatever you do don’t go to the police. They know everything about us all. It’s just no joke. If you change the cash now they’ll let me go straight away and it’ll be over.
This is followed by a sob and possibly a scream. My cop running blog friend suggested me a word known as ‘proof of life’.
It clearly needs to make sure that the victim’s household believes the kidnapper’s threats and appeals.
The fraudster calls one of the many mothers and fathers, learns the variety of the daughter’s cell phone and sends a fake message.
To deceive, the scammer uses software that can display any amount on the recipient’s mobile phone. Similar software is used to trick victims into believing that their financial institution is on the lookout for various fraudsters.
Upon hearing the news, mom or dad immediately panics. The fraudster asks you to write down the account amount and sorting code.
He informs them that until £10,000 is deposited into that account as we speak, their daughter will not see them again.
Deceived: Fraudsters can panic a mother and father by calling out a name that appears to be related to the baby’s quantity, then impersonating their voice to inform them of a false story of an overseas abduction.
They may also add that they are one of the targets of what their husband or spouse has done to them, and this is their way of getting revenge in addition to compensation.
After all, this is completely fictional, however, it gives extra credibility to the invitations. They finish the decision with a warning not to mention the name again until 4 hours after the cash transfer.
The alleged wrongdoing of their associate puts the decision maker at fault more than the fraudster. Remember, this is all about thinking video games.
Usually, the guardian transfers the cash within minutes and independently of anyone else, together with their partner. Once the money is in the fraudster’s account, it is moved around different accounts until it can no longer be traced.
When the money is transferred, the guardian calls his partner and tells him what happened. While £10,000 is a lot of money, it’s nowhere near enough to risk the life of their precious daughter.
Within 4 hours earlier than they will name again, accusations and accusations start blaming the opposite.
After 4 hours they call their daughter’s cell phone; she is completely oblivious to what happened in the house. She has done dune buggy racing or white water rafting and is completely safe.
No matter how long people use social media to flaunt their wealth, possessions and lifestyle, criminals will target them.
Resting with numbers: criminals can carry out several robberies at the same time, thinking that not all of them will bring profit
The technology is now available to do all of the above for little or no money – just a few hundred kilos will get you the software you need.
In reality, the cheater probably never left his lounge at all. No one was injured, although the injury to the guardian who received the kidnapping request could be very critical.
Given the modest sources required for this type of scam, most scammers will do more than one after the other. It is a recreation of numbers. If only half is profitable, that’s still a huge amount to “earn” in a week.
As I mentioned before, it’s all about mind video games. Cheaters should be proud of their lifestyle and the love and fear of a mother and father for their children.
It highlights the companions’ insecurities and their willingness to believe that their significant other might be upset enough with someone to justify kidnapping their daughter.
Finally, it exploits the joy of victims in such circumstances. Like victims of love fraud, victims actually feel so embarrassed about the fraud that they usually decide not to report it to the police.
