A scammer in China used artificial intelligence to masquerade as a businessman’s trusted friend and defrauded him millions of yuan.
The public security bureau of Baotou, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, reported that a business man surnamed Guo was scammed of 4.3 million yuan ($609,912) after the fraudster claimed another friend needed the money to come from a company bank account to pay the guarantee on a public tender.
The con artist asked for Guo’s personal bank account number and then claimed an equivalent sum had been wired to that account, sending him a screenshot of a fraudulent payment record.
Without checking that he had received the money, Guo sent two payments from his company account totalling the amount requested.
The Chinese police warned the public about this new type of artificial intelligence fraud as technology is aiding the digital age in diverse sectors including scammers.
People are urged to be careful about sharing their personal biological information such as facial images and fingerprints and about disclosing identification and banking information.
The public was also reminded to check the identity of the other party through various communication channels such as through phone calls before transferring funds.
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