How to Prevent 'AI Face-Swapping' Scams: Financial Regulators Issue Warning
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Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 8 (Reporter Chen Xu) 'AI face-swapping' scams use simulation technology to impersonate the voices and appearances of relatives, colleagues, or public officials. These new types of online fraud employ diverse methods, lower barriers to execution, and are harder to detect, often catching the public off guard and causing significant losses in a short time. The Beijing Office of the National Financial Regulatory Administration recently issued a risk warning: 'Seeing is not believing.' Be vigilant against new fraudulent tactics, improve your ability to identify scams, and protect the financial security of your family and friends.
The Beijing Office of the National Financial Regulatory Administration explained that criminals use illegally obtained personal information and computer algorithms to synthesize the facial features and voices of victims' relatives, colleagues, or public officials, impersonating these individuals to commit fraud. After gaining the victim's trust, they use pre-prepared scripts to send fraudulent messages about bank transfers, virtual investments, or cashback schemes. They further lower the victim's guard through video calls or voice bombardment. Victims often fail to detect the deception in time, and once they comply with the scammer's instructions and complete the transfer, the criminals disappear without a trace.
Additionally, student loan scams often involve连环套 (a series of traps). Fraudsters pose as government officials, using excuses like 'banning student online loans' or 'checking credit reports' to trick students into transferring loan funds to so-called 'verification accounts,' leaving them in both financial and credit crises. Some even impersonate financial regulatory officials, using illegally obtained personal information to contact consumers under the pretext of 'resolving complaints,' luring them into paying deposits as a condition for refunds.
Scams leveraging new technologies are no different in nature from traditional fraud, and the ways to prevent them remain fundamentally the same. The Beijing Office of the National Financial Regulatory Administration advises: Strengthen personal information protection, be cautious about data leaks, and carefully identify potential risks of information exposure. When dealing with financial transactions like transfers, verify the authenticity through multiple channels, such as calling the recipient's phone number or confirming in person. Never transfer money based solely on a single unverified communication channel.