Stalkerware can be any device app meant to fly under your radar while spying on you. It might look like a game. Or a calculator. Signs of stalkerware infection include odd notifications or unusual battery drain. Back up your contacts and data to the cloud and either initiate a factory reset – or replace the device.
Deepfakes are sophisticated AI-fueled attacks. How sophisticated? One Hong Kong finance worker paid out $25 million dollars after a deepfaked video call with multiple people – all of whom were fake – except him.
Deepfakes are used to generate chaos through misinformation, money scams, and personal attacks. Most of us assume we are not famous enough or rich enough to be targets – but fueled by AI's speed and generative automation? Anyone can be a target.
What to do?
1. Every family needs a code word or phrase. You receive a phone call from a friend or family member in trouble who needs money. Hang up. Call them back from your contact number - or call another relative/friend. Do not reconnect with the call you just disconnected. Verify your code word or phrase before you do anything. Seriously, this is the top tip from all security sites.
2. Reduce your audio, video, and image footprint. I use the default message on my iPhone for incoming calls instead of a personal message. Do not provide raw footage to AI scammers. At the very least, limit all past posts, archive or delete them.
3. Trust your gut. If something seems off? Assume the worst. Your default should be, "no." Don't recognize the caller? Nope. Email seems odd? Nope. Don't click. Don't engage. AI can generate its own emails. Chatbots can be malicious. Deepfake video and image generation tools are everywhere, and it takes literally two minutes to create a fake video and it can be done with a single photo.
4. Scale back. Unsubscribe everywhere you can. Maintain only the apps you absolutely need on any device.
5. Bookmark a few tools like Deepware.ai, Sensity.ai or RealityDefender.com for deepfake detection.
6. Avoid cryptocurrency in any format. Do not invest, use, transfer money into crypto – or set up any crypto accounts. Crypto is an unregulated industry. Many of its primary founders have been jailed. It's just safer to assume that anyone who wants to pay you – or be paid in crypto – is a scam.
Robocalls killed the phone for anyone under 50. But the phone is still the top choice for scammers – and they target seniors. Email, texting, chat and messanger apps, and video calls like Zoom, Google Meet or MS Teams, however, have no inherent protections against AI – yet. And that's what makes them so dangerous. We are trained to scan and click and move on. That needs to be rethought.
Trust no one.
