Genuine concern is mounting in China over AI-generated deepfakes which have been successfully used to defraud innocent people out of, in some cases, millions of renminbi, in literally seconds. A case in Nanjing has brought the threat worryingly close to home.
The headlines in Chinese media of late have read, “China’s AI Deepfake Fraud is Rampant; Anhui Man Loses ¥2.45 Million in 9 Seconds”. For us, the red flag is the word, Anhui, given it is less than an hour’s drive from Nanjing.
Those reports were by way of a follow up to an earlier case whereby a Fujian businessman was defrauded the sum of ¥4.3 million in 10 minutes, also by way of the use of deepfakes.
Furthermore, and much closer to home, there was also a scenario in Nanjing where a woman was conned out of ¥3,000. The swindler used a deepfake generator on their mobile phone to make a video call pretending to be the victim’s friend. While the victim did try to check the other party’s identity, she was still deceived in the end.
So, away from the deepfake technology, how do they do it?
Official media in Anhui reported that on 27 April, a Mr. He received a video call from an acquaintance requesting help in transferring a sum of money.
The acquaintance, which was later found to be a fraudster employing deepfake-generating technology, told Mr. He there was currently a project looking for bids in need of working capital. Could Mr. He advance the payment first?
It is easy with hindsight to say he was foolish, but Mr. He did not hesitate, immediately asking his family to transfer ¥2.45 million to the account designated by the other party, as The World Journal has reported.
Alert readers will recognise the similarities with that thought to be the world’s first such case of deepfake skulduggery, dating from 2019.
That was when the CEO of an UK-based energy firm was tricked into thinking he was in a call with the CEO of their German parent company. As per Forbes at the time, thanks to the convincing subtleties in the deepfake’s German accent that were an absolute match, the UK boss thought nothing of the request to transfer US$243,000.
Back in China in the here and now, the modus operandi was much the same in the case of the Fujian businessman, while the woman in Nanjing had simply been conned by a deepfake pretending to be a friend in need of a little temporary cash.
We’ve all been there, which is why we need be increasingly vigilant these days.
The message is simple. Don’t agree to hand over large sums during any kind of exchange involving the internet, without the relevant background checks. Meet them in person. And use a briefcase. Just like back in the good old days.
