Artificial intelligence is making it easier to scam people, especially through sham websites that can look shockingly real. Melissa Mahtani, executive producer of CBS News Confirmed, has tips on how to spot a scam website.

The release of Open AI's ChatGPT has accelerated the development of artificial intelligence and warnings about its impact on society.

Rise of AI

As technology advances, so do the methods employed by scammers to deceive individuals, particularly with the use of artificial intelligence (AI). AI technology has made it increasingly simple for scammers to create fake websites that closely mimic legitimate ones, posing a significant challenge for users attempting to discern the real from the counterfeit. Melissa Mahtani, executive producer at CBS News Confirmed, shared insights on this growing issue, highlighting that AI allows criminals to swiftly and effortlessly build sham websites, which could take mere minutes to set up.

Statistics provided by Microsoft underscore the scale of the problem, revealing that nearly 500 malicious web domains were dismantled last year and approximately 1.6 million bot sign-up attempts were thwarted every hour. As the boundary between authentic and fake websites becomes more ambiguous, vigilance is crucial. To combat this, Microsoft leverages trillions of data signals each day, enabling better detection and mitigation of fraudulent bot sites and aiding law enforcement in criminal proceedings.

Consumers can protect themselves by adopting a cautious approach. Mahtani advises individuals to pause before making impulse purchases, scrutinize website URLs for spelling errors, double-check links accessed through social media by visiting them directly, and review feedback for consistency. Employing a credit card for online purchases is recommended, as it offers a safeguard for disputing fraudulent transactions. While some tech companies are making strides to curb these scams, cybersecurity experts assert that more collaborative efforts between tech giants, governments, and other stakeholders are necessary to efficiently protect consumers from such fraud.



How to protect yourself from AI-powered scams

All right, scams are popping up everywhere, right? And AI is making it easier for people to dupe folks. But it's not just phone calls or phishing emails. Sham websites can look shockingly real. Melissa Mattani is here with me now in Studio 57. She is the executive producer of our fantastic CBS News Confirmed team. We share office space. You guys are always busy. Melissa, great to have you this morning. How big of a problem is this, these fake websites? You know, Errol, it's a bigger problem than people actually think. Scams have always existed. You and I have spoken about these before, but AI is making it faster, easier, and cheaper than ever to trick people. So previously, if somebody wanted to create a fake website, a convincing one, it would have taken a good couple of days or at least a couple of hours. But now with AI, this can be done in just minutes. And to give you an idea of the scale of the problem, Microsoft says it took down almost 500 malicious web domains last year and stopped approximately 1.6 million bot sign-up attempts every hour. And that gives you just an idea of the scale of the problem. But the scary thing, Errol, for people like you and me at home, is that it's getting harder and harder to tell between what's real and what's fake. And this is in part because people out there are using AI to create legitimate websites. So I spoke to Microsoft's head of security earlier, and I said, how do you tell when people are using AI to create legitimate websites versus fraudulent ones? Take a listen. We have 84 trillion signals from a threat standpoint that we process every single day, which gives us unique insights into what is happening. So it starts with really getting this intelligence and understanding the patterns so we can then protect against these frauds. We detect the bot sites, and then we do a lot of work to take down the bot sites. And given the intelligence that we have, we've also been able to help law enforcement with that intelligence so they can take actions, including imprisonment. Now, Jackal is trying, also told me, she gave me a great analogy. She said, people online need to think about it like they're defending their house. You know, when you and I leave the house in the morning, we lock our door, we make sure our windows are shut, we maybe put the alarm on, we do everything we can. But for the thieves that are out there, they're looking for a tiny crack in the window, that one time you run out of your house and you forget to lock the door, any way that they can get in. But once they're in, Errol, they're in, and they've got all of your money, all of your personal details, all of your data. And that's why it's important to be aware of all this. So what can folks watching this now do to protect themselves? So as CBS News confirmed, we've put a list of tips together, but the most important one is to really pause before you make that impulse purchase, right? Scammers out there are preying on your emotions and they are trying to get you to part with your money as quickly as possible before you can even realize that it's a scam. So pause, check some of the details, check the URL to make sure that all of the spelling is correct. Oftentimes scams will try and replicate normal looking websites, but there are a few typos. If you've clicked on a link through social media, you want to try and close out of your social media app, go to that link directly, make sure that you're seeing the same thing and that you weren't led to a copycat website. Read the reviews. If all of the reviews are glowing, similar language, and they've all got five stars, that's a good sign that something fishy is going on. And finally, use a credit card. That way, if you do think that there may have been fraud, you can always dispute the purchase. You mentioned Microsoft taking down a bunch of these sites. Are tech companies doing enough from what you can tell? You know, that's a really good question because they're putting a lot on the consumer, asking us to be vigilant. And I spoke to another cybersecurity expert and he said, whilst Microsoft and tech companies are doing some things to try and help us, it's not enough. Much more needs to be done by the government and by all the tech companies working together to make better sort of partnerships between public companies, private companies, to help protect consumers before we are even seeing the scale of this type of fraud. Yeah, that would be welcomed. Really great advice though, Melissa. Your team is always working on important things like this. Thanks for being here. And as always, you can get more advice in the team's latest reporting by visiting cbsnews.com or following them on Instagram at cbsnewsconfirmed. Right now, the team has new reporting on where your data goes while you're online and how it's used.

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Rise of AI