Ah, silly me! I saw a lovely dress on Instagram and ordered it before I went to Google and Reddit to verify the seller. I haven’t received it 23 days later, but I’m assured from my too-late Reddit check that it will be crap and I won’t be able to return it. I KNOW better! I dropped my guard. There are fakes everywhere and they are getting deeper.
I saw Dr. Sanjay Gupta, M.D. pushing an anti-dementia drug that he swore reversed his father’s Alzheimer’s. I stopped to watch. I had heard Gupta in person this summer and he hadn’t discussed this. Was it new? I sure wanted this drug to be true as a family member is struggling with rapid decline. So, I watched with great interest. 1. Desperately needed. 2. Appearance of truthfulness – The AI deep fake really looked and sounded like Gupta.
This super AI deep fake keeps popping up on the internet and they say “buy now as it keeps getting taken down and you may not have another opportunity to save your self or your family member”. 3.Urgency – it won’t last much longer.
I was notified last week of a colleague who is getting invitations from me to look at my vacation pictures – my name but some crazy email address. 4.Familiarity – someone you trust.
A former Member received an invoice from “Vistage” for a past due invoice. Her billing department was suspicious so they asked her to verify, and she sent it to me. 5. Looks like a previous bill, but not exact.
The worst is wire transfers. You may as well walk into the bank, take out the cash, fly to your supplier to deliver it in person for how long it takes to get a wire transfer completed and it is irreversible. Fraud is everywhere. 6. Who benefits?
It is time to create rules about how you verify “information” you receive. If immediate action is required (“You Must Act Now”), pause. Maybe institute a 24 hour waiting period and see if it still interests you then. Ask yourself: Who is the source? Are you sure? Can you cross reference it with other data you receive? Does it make sense in the context? Would a quick phone call verify the source? Who would benefit from you accepting/believing/acting on the information?
Deep fakes will only get better. “If it looks too good to be true, it is.”
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