Can AI clone you and access your bank account? Here is what you need to know:

Can AI clone you and access your bank account? Here is what you need to know: 

You might have heard of people sending you phishing emails to get your account details. But what if I told you that a person can access your bank account, without your PIN or your password? A lot of banks today use voice recognition technology to safeguard people’s bank accounts. But a BBC journalist put these to test with her own AI generated voice during the “BBC Scam Safe Week” and the results were shocking to say the least.  

Generative AI was able to surpass the two different banks’ voice ID systems. The journalist first tried this with sophisticated equipment at the BBC office and then did it on her kitchen table with tech that the everyday person had access to. Guess what? It worked both times. To make things a bit more complicated, someone does not need to get in touch with you to scam you. She was able to generate her clone with just an interview that was publicly available online. It is scary to think that someone could get access to your bank account from a conference you participated in. Further, in an age where most companies try to build a digital presence, it is quite easy to find the voice of someone important, to make clones of them for fraudulent purposes.

It is important to realize the ease with which AI clones can be created. You can create a voice clone of yourself with as little as $5. Generative AI is growing fast, and as that happens, it is going to get easier to create clones that can be used to defraud individuals, and businesses. It is not a problem that we can write off, and there is an increased need to be vigilant. 

What can you do? 

1. Try limiting the amount of publicly available information that you put out, by keeping your social media accounts private. Though, it is important to recognize that this is considerably harder to do for businesses and individuals who rely a lot on social media/an online presence for business [Let’s not make this a recommendation]

2. Set up Multi-Factor Authentication for all your accounts. Whenever possible, use additional layers of security like PINs or app-based verification. 

3. Create a culture of skepticism. Even if a voice sounds familiar, verify the authenticity of the caller, through another method. In your company, make this kind of verification a part of the overall culture.

4. Just like fire drills prepare us for emergencies, running simulations can help assess your preparedness and identify gaps in your defenses against Generative AI attacks.

Remember,  your voice (quite literally) matters.Take proactive steps today with tools like Karna, which can help detect deepfakes and prevent potential breaches that can cost you in millions and lead to long term reputational damage. Follow us on LinkedIn to keep updated!