AI brings new fraud and fraud challenges for police

(TNS) – One of the most common phone scams involves an elderly person taking a call from an upset grandchild and saying they need money wired. The elderly person is tricked into sending the money, only to later learn that the person on the phone was not their family member.

Joan Lawcewicz, a financial crimes investigator in Chippewa Falls, said artificial intelligence has made this type of fraud even more problematic and easier to deceive the unsuspecting public.

“You can change the voices and the images,” Lawcewicz said of scammers using artificial intelligence technologies.

If someone gets a call like this, Lawcewicz has some good advice on what to do next.

“Of course you call your loved one,” she said. “They give you a time limit to get started. They are master manipulators. If there is a feeling of rush for any reason, it is probably a scam.”

Lawcewicz has been the Financial Crimes Unit investigator for about a year. She spoke to a dozen people, mostly seniors, at the Chippewa Falls YMCA on Tuesday. She showed off some well-taken, altered photos of herself and said she took them at a conference on internet crimes against children that she recently attended. She warned of the wide range of scams that exist, from text messages to Internet pop-ups to websites that look authentic but have a slightly different URL.

“They happen so easily, and it can happen to anyone,” she said of scams. “Many scams take place abroad, but many are also local.”

Among their suggestions is that you should protect your Social Security number, even if someone only asks for the last four numbers.

“You can do a lot with the last four digits of a social security number. I wouldn’t give it away,” Lawcewicz said. “AT&T doesn’t care about your Social Security number; They just don’t.”

Lawcewicz also warned about the quality of counterfeit bills, pointing out that an obvious sign that something is wrong is that the cut of the bill is not exactly centered. She said there were high quality counterfeits.

“A penetration test worked, but the cash counter realized it was a scam,” she said.

Other advice Lawcewicz gave includes:

• Destruction of invoices, bank statements and receipts.

• Protect your mail.

• Sign up for the Do Not Call registry.

• Maintaining a list of all financial accounts.

• Stopping pre-approved credit card offers.

• Use of two-factor authentication where offered.

• Check your credit reports regularly.

Lawcewicz also brought Chip, the department’s 10-month-old therapy dog, to the forum. Lawcewicz is the dog handler. Chip’s role is often to put people at ease, especially when interviewing victims of sexual or physical assault.

“He doesn’t arrest people; it captures people’s hearts,” Lawcewicz said.

© 2024 the Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wis.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.