Scammers use AI to fake kidnappings, a $20K robot can cook you dinner and clean up, and Bill Ackman’s global AI plagiarism witch hunt: AI Eye.
In a bizarre cyber kidnapping incident, a missing 17-year-old Chinese exchange student was found alive in a tent in Utahs freezing wilderness this week. Hed been manipulated into heading into the wilderness by scammers who extracted an $80,000 ransom from his parents by claiming to have kidnapped him.
While its not yet known if AI was employed in this incident, it shone a light on an increasing trend of fake kidnappings, often targeting Chinese exchange students. The Riverdale police department said that scammers often convince victims to isolate themselves by threatening to harm their families and then use fear tactics and fake photos and audio sometimes staged, sometimes generated with AI of the kidnapped victims to extort money.
An Arizona woman, Jennifer DeStefano, testified to the U.S. Senate last year that shed been fooled by deepfake AI technology into thinking her 15-year-old daughter Briana had been kidnapped. Scammers apparently learned the teenager was away on a ski trip and then called up Jennifer with a deepfake AI voice that mimicked Briana sobbing and crying: Mom these bad men have me, help me, help me.
A man then threatened to pump Briana full of drugs and kill her unless a ransom was paid. Fortunately, before she could hand over any cash another parent mentioned theyd heard of similar AI scams, and Jennifer was able to get in touch with the real Briana to learn she was safe. The cops werent interested in her report, labeling it a prank call.
