In recent years, phishing has become one of the most common online scams. For neophytes, phishing, or “hameçonnage” in the language of Molière, most of the time consists of fake emails/SMS messages that usurp the identity of a public service (such as the fines website, the famous Personal Training Account, or the Crit’Air sticker), a well-known person, or a company.
The idea with phishing is to get the target to click on a rogue link and steal personal and banking information, using the pretext of a payment error, selection for a contest, etc. There are many reasons for this. According to a report published by the FTC, the US federal agency in charge of commerce, losses suffered by consumers in connection with online fraud reached $8.8 billion in 2022, an increase of 30% compared to 2021.
Text message scams alone have netted hackers $330 million, and that sum could increase in the coming years with the rise of AI. Indeed, cyber-scammers do not hesitate to use ChatGPT and the like to create malicious content that is extremely difficult to detect.
BITDEFENDER LAUNCHES AI TO DETECT ONLINE SCAMS
Based on this observation, Bitdefender, a company specializing in computer security, has decided to turn AI against hackers. Indeed, the company has just presented this Monday, December 18, 2023, Scamio. Behind this name is a free online scam detection service. This AI-powered chatbot is able to scan emails, text messages, images, individual links, and even QR codes for possible fraud attempts in seconds.
To do this, simply upload the suspicious content to Scamio, then describe it in a “conversational tone.” The AI then gives its verdict a few seconds later, along with some recommendations (delete, block contact, etc.) and tips on how to protect yourself against these types of scams.
As Bitdefender points out, Scamio is compatible with all devices and operating systems. In addition, it can be accessed for free from a web browser or directly in Facebook Messenger after creating an account. It should be noted that it does not require you to have previously downloaded a Bitdefender product. “Online scams, once easy to spot, have become difficult to detect at a glance. Scamio restores the balance by reliably determining the likelihood of malicious activity based on the content and context of a message,” said Ciprian Istrate, Vice President of Consumer Operations at Bitdefender.
