Empire State University teaches seniors AI scam safety

MALTA, N.Y. (NEWS10) -Seniors are the most targeted age group by cybercriminals according to Empire State University. With artificial intelligence now being used in common scams, Dr. Andrew Hurd shared a few ways to stay safe.

The modern processing power of computers is strong enough for AI to analyze and generate data. These programs are constantly learning from sources like social media. "If your voice goes into it, if your pictures, images, whatever it may be; all that information is being datamined," said Dr. Hurd.

You may have seen celebrity voice bots online that can say typed-out sentences. Dr. Hurd says it's easy for scammers to make one that even imitates you by recording a quick phone call.

"The inflection in the word hello allows the software package to capture up to about 16 characters of the alphabet. If you say hello and goodbye, it gets all 26," explained Dr. Hurd.

The Malta Senior Citizens President says she had a scammer call her and pretend to be a family member. "The voice was exactly like my grandson and so I said his name and then they continued on how they needed help. I realized and I put in something false; he couldn't answer," said Kathy Eitzmann.

AI can also make pictures and videos that look real. Below are two pictures shown in Dr. Hurd's presentation:

Take a closer look and you'll see the errors: Similar-looking people playing with backward cards, the cards on the table have smudged symbols, and the woman in the middle has smushed eyes underneath her glasses.

Anytime you think someone trying to get personal information is part of a scam, Dr. Hurd says hang up or log off and call the business directly. If a call comes through as a scam risk, he recommends not talking first if you decide to answer the phone.