AI赋能诈骗升级,自动化骗局成新趋势 -- 反欺诈专家发出警示
资深注册反欺诈审查师及职业调查员兰斯福德·纳纳·阿多·朱尼尔发出警告，人工智能（AI）技术正在重塑网络诈骗的格局，部分骗局已由自动化程序执行，而非人类犯罪分子亲手操作。
他在七月末做客Joy FM《超级早间秀》节目，探讨如何提前防范网络诈骗议题时表示，AI技术的飞跃让骗子的手法变得更加高明，犯罪活动也愈发难以察觉。
"如今AI技术已经为骗子的工作提供了强大助力，诈骗流程也实现了自动化。因此，对你实施诈骗的未必是人类，极有可能是AI系统，"他指出。
据介绍，由AI驱动的系统已具备与受害者实时对话的能力，使网络诈骗的欺骗程度达到前所未有的水平。
"它们经过精心调教。机器学习让它们掌握了应对各类消息的技巧，能够与你自然地交流互动，"他进一步说明。
兰斯福德·纳纳·阿多·朱尼尔强调，公众有必要认识到，当代诈骗已脱离随意散乱的模式，演变为高度组织化的犯罪体系。
"我首先要让大家明白，骗子绝非缺乏教育背景或对自己行当一无所知的人。他们接受过系统化的专业训练，经过层层培养，"他说道。
他提到，骗子掌握的技能与注册法务审查师及执法调查员所学的专业内容高度类似。
他补充说："他们所学习的内容，正是我们作为注册法务鉴定专家和警务调查员所研习的。"
这位反欺诈调查员指出，诈骗行为贯穿人类历史长河，因为总有人会为了经济利益铤而走险。
"自亚当与夏娃的时代起，骗局便如影随形，未来也不会消失，因为人类天性中总有利用他人的欲望，"他表示。
他解释说，骗子常常利用贪婪、急迫感以及快速获利的心理，在受害者幡然醒悟之前完成骗局。
他列举了若干常见的诈骗形态，涵盖情感骗局、洗钱骗局、投资骗局、彩票骗局、庞氏骗局与传销骗局、招聘骗局以及网络购物骗局等类型。
尽管网络诈骗持续占据舆论焦点，但他表示，这些只是庞大诈骗生态体系的一个组成部分。
"我们尚未认识到，欺诈与诈骗已经成为学徒制从业者的正式职业。他们会接受专门培训，"他提醒道。
他结合自身的办案经历，回顾了曾与警方在特希·努恩瓜庄园联合开展的一次行动，调查人员揭开了诈骗团伙的层级化运作模式。
"我们在特希·努恩瓜庄园拘捕了一名嫌犯，与警方合力将其抓获后发现，他们竟有明确的组织架构图。他们会经过面试筛选，设有薪酬体系，这些人都是被专门招募来从事诈骗活动的，"他披露道。
据他介绍，这些犯罪团伙的成员以团队化形式运作，潜伏在电脑屏幕背后，物色潜在受害者，搭建虚假网站，投放误导性网络广告，逐步引诱目标上钩，最终将其钱财据为己有。
"他们负责侦察目标、铺垫场景、培养对象、设计仿冒网站，继而发布广告内容。他们每天都有既定任务需要完成，"他描述道。
他还回顾了过去四十年来诈骗手段的演变轨迹。
据他回忆，二十世纪八十年代的诈骗多为机会型作案，犯罪分子借助面对面接触的场景，趁机对毫无防备的受害者下手。
"然而进入2000年代后，互联网与计算机技术进入撒哈拉以南非洲地区，网吧如雨后春笋般涌现，诈骗的重心也随即转移。骗局从机会型作案演变为你所说的'有预谋'模式，"他解释道。
他表示，互联网的普及将诈骗活动推向有组织的跨境犯罪形态，匿名性成为骗子最强大的武器之一。
"一切都被精心策划。诈骗实现跨境传播，得益于互联网带来的广阔触达范围。无限度的匿名性堪称骗局的幕后推手，因为你根本无法判断屏幕对面的真实身份，"他分析道。
他还提醒说，日益普及的网络购物为不法分子提供了新的作案契机。
他指出，骗子抓住人们对便利的追求心理，充当正规零售商与消费者之间的"中间人"。
"消费者青睐便利，犯罪分子同样乐见其成。因为你不愿意亲自前往店铺挑选商品，而是希望打个电话就能送货上门，"他说道。
"你所追求的便利，恰恰被他们利用，截断你与零售店的联系，将你的钱财收入囊中。零售店收不到货款，消费者拿不到商品，犯罪分子却如愿以偿。"
这位反欺诈审查师进一步指出，网络诈骗的实际规模远超官方统计数字，因为大量受害者选择隐忍不报。
"根据我的经验，每当有人报案并有嫌疑人落网时，便会有另外十个人站出来说'他们对我做过同样的事'，"他分享道。
"我的统计数据显示，仅有十分之一的故事被讲述出来，其余九成则湮没无声。真正愿意谈论甚至举报的受害者仅占10%。"
A certified fraud examiner and professional investigator, Ransford Nana Addo Junior, has cautioned that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the landscape of online fraud, with a growing number of scams now being executed by automated systems rather than human perpetrators.
Appearing on Joy FM's Super Morning Show at the end of July, during a segment about staying ahead of online scams, he observed that progress in AI has rendered fraudsters more advanced and their schemes increasingly difficult to identify.
"It has reached the point where AI has enhanced the operations of scammers, and now fraudulent schemes are automated. So, the one deceiving you may not actually be a person, but could be an AI," he remarked.
According to his account, AI-driven systems can now hold real-time dialogues with victims, rendering online deception more persuasive than at any prior time.
"They have been trained. Machine learning has taught them to reply to every message. They will talk with you," he clarified.
Ransford Nana Addo Junior emphasised that the public needs to recognise that contemporary fraud is no longer haphazard but a systematically structured criminal operation.
"I want to establish the premise that scammers are not ignorant individuals or people unaware of their actions. They undergo formal instruction, they are carefully groomed," he stated.
He pointed out that fraudsters develop competencies comparable to those acquired by certified forensic examiners and law enforcement investigators.
"What they study mirrors precisely what we learn as certified forensic specialists and police investigators," he added.
The fraud investigator noted that scams have persisted across ages because certain individuals will inevitably seek to exploit others for monetary benefit.
"Since the era of Adam and Eve, scams have accompanied humanity, and they will endure because humans harbour the inclination to take advantage of their fellow beings," he observed.
He elaborated that fraudsters typically exploit psychological triggers like greed, time pressure and the aspiration for swift financial returns before victims ultimately recognise the deception.
He enumerated various prevalent fraud categories, encompassing romance fraud, money-mule operations, investment fraud, lottery fraud, Ponzi and pyramid schemes, recruitment fraud and e-commerce fraud.
Although online scams continue to command public attention, he noted that these represent merely a fraction of a much broader fraud ecosystem.
"We have overlooked the fact that fraud and scams have evolved into a profession for individuals who also undergo apprenticeship programmes. They receive training," he warned.
Drawing from his professional background, he recounted a joint operation with police at Teshie Nungua Estate, where investigators exposed the hierarchical structure of a scam syndicate.
"We apprehended an individual at Teshie Nungua Estate, and when we collaborated with police to detain them, we discovered they maintained an organisational chart. They undergo interview processes, possess a compensation framework, and these individuals are specifically recruited to perpetrate scams," he disclosed.
According to him, members of these criminal enterprises function in coordinated teams, positioned at computers to pinpoint prospective victims, construct counterfeit websites, deploy misleading online advertisements and cultivate targets before appropriating their funds.
"They identify targets, prepare the groundwork, groom them, engage in fabricating bogus websites, and subsequently post advertisements. They have assigned quotas to accomplish by day's end," he explained.
He also chronicled the transformation of fraud over the preceding four decades.
Per his recollection, fraud during the 1980s was predominantly opportunistic, with offenders capitalising on unwary victims during in-person encounters.
"However, once we transitioned into the 2000s, with the internet and computers arriving in the sub-Saharan African region, and internet cafes emerging, fraud pivoted in that direction. Scams evolved from opportunistic to what you might term 'orchestrated'," he clarified.
He indicated that the proliferation of internet access converted fraud into structured, transnational criminal operations, with anonymity emerging as one of the most potent instruments for scammers.
"Everything became systematised. It turned cross-border because the internet provides extensive reach. Boundless anonymity serves as the godfather of scams, as you cannot identify your correspondent," he analysed.
He further cautioned that the growing embrace of online shopping has opened fresh avenues for criminals to prey upon consumers.
He noted that fraudsters capitalise on people's preference for convenience by interposing themselves between authentic retailers and shoppers.
"Shoppers and consumers favour convenience, and criminals embrace it equally. Because you prefer not to visit that store to select merchandise. You wish to make a call and have the item delivered to you," he said.
"The convenience you pursue, they will position themselves between you and the retailer and extract money from you. The retailer receives nothing, the customer obtains nothing, while the criminal is satisfied."
The fraud examiner further posited that the actual magnitude of online fraud substantially exceeds official data, as numerous victims opt against reporting their experiences.
"From my experience, when one person files a report and an arrest occurs, then you'll witness ten additional individuals coming forward to say, 'They committed the same act against me,'" he shared.
"My estimation is that merely one in ten stories gets told. The remainder remains untold. A mere 10% of victims will actually discuss this matter or even lodge a report."