Public warned of digital threat
PUBLISHED : 20 Dec 2023 at 04:00
The public is being warned by the Royal Thai Police (RTP) to brace for more widespread crime involving deepfake AI technology to swap faces and imitate the voices of others to lure victims into scams in the year to come.
The concerns of national police chief Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol were yesterday relayed to the public by Pol Maj Gen Siriwat Deephor, a deputy spokesman for the RTP.
He said Pol Maj Gen Siriwat was particularly concerned about the rise in more advanced AI technology, especially the so-called deepfake AI being abused by criminals as a more sophisticated tool to lure victims into scams, said Pol Maj Gen Siriwat.
The deepfake technology could be used to mock up a video or voice clip of a well-known figure to deceive victims into believing what he or she is watching is genuine, he said.
“The same AI technology might sometimes be used to generate fake pornographic video clips to blackmail someone,” he said. “Using AI to generate fake news intending to stir up public misunderstanding is also an increasingly worrying possibility in 2024.”
To avoid falling victim to such high-tech scams, members of the public are being advised to think twice about content or information they come across online rather than leap to the conclusion it is real, Pol Gen Torsak advised.
More importantly, people should never rush to make any financial transactions online until they can verify they are dealing with a genuine business or individual.
As for this year, the most common form of online crime, and the subject of more than 150,000 police complaints, involved the buying or selling of goods or services, he said.
Meanwhile, online investments had been responsible for the greatest financial losses, accounting for over 16 billion baht. Other common forms of online crime observed over the past year included fraudulent money transfers, loan application scams and threats made by phone, he said.