PLDT warns public on AI-generated scams

MANILA, Philippines — Integrated telco PLDT Inc. has reminded the public to watch out for scams during the Christmas season, as criminals use artificial intelligence (AI) to make their schemes more convincing.

In an advisory, PLDT, together with its wireless unit Smart Communications Inc., warned against the rise of AI-crafted scams that may look authentic to the undiscerning eye.

PLDT chief information security officer Angel Redoble said criminals are now employing AI in their operations given its capacity to emulate the styles of different persons.

Citing a study by cybersecurity group SoSafe, PLDT said some people are more likely to reveal their personal information to messages made with AI. As such, Redoble reminded subscribers to check the sources of e-mails and texts that they receive.

“AI-crafted emails contain more polished, personalized messages that imitate the writing style of humans. They contain authentic looking visual cues that trick victims into believing that they are reading official messages from their banks or organizations,” Redoble said.

“The most important thing is to know who the email is from, (and) remembering the very basic rule of not talking to strangers can protect people from being victimized,” he added.

In November, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) warned the public against unauthorized cash transfers, as transactions ballooned to record levels ahead of the holiday season.

The BSP said scammers are currently exploiting a modus wherein they tell targets that someone is trying to gain access to their bank accounts.

Afterward, these scammers send a malicious link where the victims can supposedly fix the issue. However, the site is designed to harvest sensitive details that will be typed in there.

Generative AI like ChatGPT refers to applications that can make images, texts and videos based on stock data. For instance, ChatGPT can be prompted to pen advisories that emulate the writing style of a certain company or group.

This is one of the reasons that tech icons like Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak in March wrote a petition to suspend further developments on generative AI to provide governments the time to