Recently, the U.S. Treasury announced that using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, they successfully recovered up to $4 billion in fraudulent and improper payments during the fiscal year 2024. This figure represents a significant increase from the previous fiscal year's $652.7 million, demonstrating the remarkable effectiveness of AI in combating financial fraud. Image source note: The image was generated by AI, with the image licensing provider being Midjourney. Treasury officials stated that they began quietly using machine learning technology to analyze vast amounts of data to identify and prevent fraud since the end of 2022.

Recently, a former CEO of an Australian startup was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly using false financial records to scam investors, raising up to $40 million. The 41-year-old man, Baba Nadimpalli, is the co-founder and former CEO of Skael. Founded in 2016, Skael claimed to replace human labor with 'digital workers' to streamline workflows and enhance efficiency. However, the situation is...

Reflection 70B, an open-source AI model released by HyperWrite, claims to be a variant of Meta's Llama 3.1 and has shown outstanding performance in third-party tests, drawing attention. However, widespread skepticism arose after HyperWrite founder Matt Shumer announced on social media that the model is 'the world's strongest open-source model' and shared its 'reflection tuning' technology. However, an independent analysis by the Artificial Analysis organization...

Michael Smith, an American musician, has been charged with multiple offenses for allegedly using artificial intelligence to generate music and manipulating streaming numbers on music platforms to siphon over $10 million in royalties. From 2017 to 2024, Smith created hundreds of thousands of computer-generated songs using AI technology and boosted stream counts through automated bots, illegally earning approximately $1.2 million in royalties each year. He collaborated with others to fabricate stream counts through fake accounts, stealing royalties that rightfully belong to legitimate musicians and composers. Although charged with telecommunications fraud...

Trump shared images on social media claiming that Taylor Swift and her fans support his presidential campaign, featuring shirts saying 'Swifties for Trump' and a picture of Taylor resembling Uncle Sam. However, these images have been questioned as AI-generated misinformation and faced backlash from fans. Trump stated he was unaware of the situation, while his spokesperson insisted that the expressed support was genuine. Rumors suggest that Taylor might appear as a special guest at one of Trump's campaign rallies. Frequent fraudulent incidents have arisen due to AI face-swapping technology.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the United States announces a comprehensive ban on fraudulent artificial intelligence (AI) generated reviews and recommendations to combat dishonest practices in online reviews, including the purchase of positive reviews, hiring fake followers, and fabricating character testimonials. These fake reviews mislead consumers and undermine fair market competition. The new regulations highlight the dangers of AI-generated fake reviews and their impact on consumer decision-making. FTC Chair Lina Khan stated that fake reviews pollute the market and divert attention from honest competitors. This regulation aims to protect consumers by ensuring they rely on genuine user feedback rather than falsehoods.

Microsoft Vice Chairman Brad Smith urged the U.S. Congress to implement laws targeting AI-generated deepfake technology to protect citizens from fraud and manipulation. He pointed out that while the industry and nonprofit organizations have taken measures to address this issue, laws need to be updated to combat deepfake fraud. Smith emphasized the need for a comprehensive 'Deepfake Fraud Act' to provide a legal framework for law enforcement to prosecute cybercriminals who exploit the technology for fraud. He also called for updating laws concerning child sexual abuse and non-consensual intimate images to include those generated by AI.

Mastercard has launched an innovative approach utilizing generative AI and graphical technology to significantly enhance the identification of stolen payment cards, doubling its detection rate and allowing for risk identification before cards are maliciously used. This technology has a profound impact on both online and brick-and-mortar retailers, helping to reduce fraud losses, improve transaction security, and enhance customer experience. By quickly scanning vast amounts of card data and transaction information, the system can identify new fraud patterns, predict and infer partial visible card information, reconstruct complete card details, promptly alerting banks and protecting cardholders against fraud.

Telecom network fraud methods are constantly evolving, posing a threat to public property security. Major types include 'screen sharing' fraud, which involves inducing victims to enable screen sharing to obtain personal banking information for theft; 'AI deepfake' fraud, which utilizes technology to synthesize false audio and video, gaining trust before misleading victims into transferring money or providing sensitive information; false online investment fraud that uses high returns as bait to lure individuals into investing before siphoning off funds; and fake transaction fraud in online gaming products, which deceives players into making offline transactions through fictitious trading information, resulting in financial losses. Prevention measures are necessary.

Google's new AI search feature may have issues that could promote fraudulent websites and malware. Users have reported search results pointing to junk sites, posing potential malware risks. Google claims to be addressing the problem, but this incident highlights its challenges in handling junk websites. This issue has raised concerns, showing that Google still faces challenges and areas for improvement in the AI search field.

AI face-swapping technology has been used in fraud cases involving huge financial scams. The development of AI technology increases the success rate of fraud. AI fraud poses a threat to society. AI fraud cases illustrate the process and examples of malicious use of AI.

Qihoo 360 Group released the '2024 AI Security Report', indicating that AI-based deepfake fraud surged by 3000% in 2023. AI-based phishing emails increased by 1000%. APT organizations with national backgrounds have used AI to carry out over a dozen cyber attack incidents. The malicious use of artificial intelligence technology is expected to grow rapidly.

The Sora text-to-video model released by OpenAI has created a buzz, with some individuals using the Sora name to sell courses and accounts, and even committing fraud. Most of these courses and accounts are overpriced, with false content and no actual value. Some course sellers haven't even used Sora themselves; they are simply profiting from people's anxiety and information asymmetry. OpenAI has not yet opened access to Sora, and we remind everyone to be cautious to avoid getting scammed. It is advised to stay informed about new technologies like Sora.

IBM researchers have discovered a relatively simple method for hijacking voice calls using generative AI tools. This finding raises concerns for organizations that rely on phone verification for identity, such as financial institutions. It poses a challenge for chatbots, as low-cost AI tools enable scammers to easily impersonate others’ voices, stealing funds and other sensitive information. Audio hijacking is a new threat, where malicious actors can manipulate large language models using voice cloning during ongoing conversations.

Mastercard Inc. joins the generative AI race and has developed its own model to help numerous banks within its network detect fraud. The newly launched AI model, known as 'Decision Intelligence Pro', reportedly increases the fraud transaction detection rate by up to 300% compared to previous models. The model takes into account the cardholder's merchant history to assess whether a transaction aligns with their typical behavior patterns, completing the entire process in approximately 50 milliseconds.

The scientific journal Science has announced the use of commercial software Proofig to detect image manipulation using AI, aiming to prevent improper alteration of images in research fraud. While the software can capture some of the most severe cases of image manipulation, fraudsters who understand how the software operates may still find ways to evade detection. Image manipulation is a common fraudulent practice in scientific research, especially in the processing of experimental data.

In 2024, the cryptocurrency sector will encounter more sophisticated AI fraud techniques. These techniques include AI-driven dynamic fraud, BRC-20 vulnerabilities, and weaknesses in smart contracts. Although scams and hacking losses improved in 2023, fraudulent methods continue to evolve. Phishing will target individual users and enterprise systems through social engineering strategies.

EY has successfully utilized artificial intelligence to detect audit fraud. The company tested a new AI system on the accounts of its UK audit clients, which identified two suspicious activities among the first ten companies tested. This demonstrates the potential of AI in enhancing audit quality and reducing workload; however, there are differing opinions among auditors on the level of reliance on AI, and regulatory bodies need to provide their views.

Scientists have successfully developed an AI tool using machine learning techniques that can trace the authenticity of wine. The tool precisely traces back to specific vineyards and wineries through differences in the concentrations of trace compounds. In addition to combating wine fraud, this technology can also monitor the wine production process and improve the quality of winemaking. The application of this tool is expected to reduce the costs of making top-quality wine, benefiting more people.