A Cybersecurity expert has highlighted the threat posed by networks of organised criminals who are generating a spate of convincing deepfake videos, audios and images to dupe potential victims into sending money.
Bahrain is stepping up efforts to tackle these scams that exploit artificial intelligence (AI) tools to target people, Interior Ministry’s anti-economic crimes directorate’s financial crimes division director Major Mohammed Al Abdulla said.
Speaking during the Arab AI Forum, which concluded at the Gulf Convention Centre in Manama, Major Al Abdulla called on members of the public to stay vigilant as scammers were getting more adept at using generative AI technology.
“These are not the work of a single individual, but rather a number of organised criminals mostly operating outside Bahrain,” Maj Al Abdulla pointed out during the session titled ‘AI security in action: Tackling deepfakes, phishing and privacy breaches on campuses’.
“Normally, fraudsters start by conducting social experiments. They find out the most popular applications and platforms used by people, which is why BenefitPay is a popular target.
“They then send multiple people to Bahrain and have them open bank accounts and buy SIM cards, open crypto accounts and then leave the country. This way they can transfer money between multiple accounts, making it difficult to track down the stolen money.
“However now, with AI and bots, there is less need for such a complex method, and they can just create deepfakes and steal your money without effort.”
In deepfake scams, fraudsters clone images, videos or audios of their intended victim. They then train an AI model to mimic their facial features, vocal range and speech patterns and make realistic clips to manipulate victims to give their money.
Maj Al Abdulla said Bahrain was already working hard to take measures against such scams, especially with the new and revamped eKey 2.0.
“With the new eKey 2.0, even if criminals have you fooled, they will not be able to access your bank details without your biometric data,” he said.
“You will be able to access your own accounts by only scanning your face and eyes with your phones, eliminating the need for an OTP or password.
“It adds an additional layer of security, but it is optional. If you prefer, you can still use OTPs.
“We realise not everyone will be comfortable with face recognition technology, so while it is recommended, it will not be forced on anybody.”
Maj Al Abdulla also said that the kingdom was now looking at potentially staying ahead of the curve when it comes to scams, and that they were intending to ‘fight fire with fire or in this case, AI with AI’.
“We are now exploring the possible use of AI to not only solve crimes, but also prevent them in the first place,” he said.
“It will help us identify and block scams such as deepfakes, automatically before somebody becomes a victim.
“It can also be used at the airport or traffic directorate to stop crimes there before it happens.
“Legislations are needed and implementation will take time, but it could pay off for the kingdom in the future.”
He urged people to join the Financial and Cyber Crimes WhatsApp groups, available in Arabic and English. People can join the group by going to the @acees_bh Instagram page and clicking on the link in the bio.
Deepfakes of celebrities including Taylor Swift and Elon Musk have been created to promote everything from kitchenware to crypto scams and diet pills. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation last week warned that ‘malicious actors’ were impersonating senior US officials in AI-generated voice memos that target current and former government officials, as well as their contacts.
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