Column | Finns are threatened by a digital scam where we are being cheated

This one in February of the year HS told the newswhich startled in that distant, innocent past.

Fraudsters attacked a Finnish company. First, the voice of the company’s CEO was duplicated with the help of artificial intelligence. Then a Whatsapp voice message was created with an artificial voice, in which a real-sounding manager asked employees to make a large money transfer.

The news spread widely because it had a touch of sci-fi. Now that the technological age has passed since February, we know it better.

For a long time, online scams have been easy to ignore as an unpleasant byproduct of the digital transition. A millennial like me, who grew up around a computer, might have thought that scam messages and spam were being stumbled upon by someone else – usually someone who jumped on the digital bandwagon as an adult. This is no longer the case. Both in Finland and abroad young people fall for scams even more often than older age groups.

For scams the missing amount has grown large, HS told me a couple of weeks ago (HS 16.9.). Last year, banks became aware of frauds for almost 77 million euros. Of these funds, the banks froze approximately EUR 33 million.

In total, Finns lost at least 44 million euros to criminals last year, more than a hundred thousand euros per day. The number is probably even higher, as not everyone admits to being the target of a scam.

This year scams have increased even more (HS 17.9.). For example, investment scams are on the rise, many of which revolve around cryptocurrencies.

As artificial intelligence develops, so do scams. If the CEO called in Finnish in February, there will be a loved one in distress asking for money. In English-speaking countries, warnings and media reports of such AI scams have become more common this year.

The fear of fraud is constantly present when moving online. A few weeks ago, I entered a winter jacket while searching for a well-known British brand and the word Finland. On the first page of results, we found a shop that resembled the look of the brand, where the Finnish language was harsh but the coats were cheap. I didn’t buy and left, but the strange feeling remained.

All around us, it seems like a rapidly deteriorating digital gap is opening up. Nobody wants it, but nobody can control it. Why not?

For online scams has for years been most visibly reacted to by enlightenment. Authorities, banks and other companies regularly warn consumers about dangers with various campaigns. They are useful, but there is an exciting side-taste: this is life here at digiostar, try to survive. Watch out, behind you!

Things also happen. Scam calls and messages disguised as Finnish numbers have already been tackled in Finland as well. Still, cheating continues and becomes more common. It does not only harm the victims, but the entire digital industry, through which the scams take place. Scam calls have weakened at least my own desire to answer the phone. The credibility of text messages has suffered. Interesting, completely honest new deals seem suspicious in the flow of social media.

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As artificial intelligence develops, so do scams.

The reputational damage caused by phishing should be an incentive for companies to prevent fraudsters from succeeding on their platforms. Companies are already doing a lot, but the number of scams that end up in consumers’ eyes makes you question whether they are really doing enough. Do we as consumers demand enough from companies and as voters from our decision makers?

Artificial intelligence there is not only a revolution going on around us, but also thousands of races about which hands will be able to measure the benefits of artificial intelligence the fastest. The great powers are competing to be the first to have a model in their hands that tramples the other party’s military forces into the swamp with its drone patterns. Technology companies are competing to see whose cars will be the first to drive everywhere by themselves.

A similar race is underway between the criminals who scam us every day, the platforms they use and the decision makers. In this race, the criminals do not seem to be losing, and the awareness campaigns do not seem to stop them.

The spate of online scams is just a foretaste of what’s to come if we let the races end sadly.

The author is HS’s editorial manager