Scammers use artificial intelligence to impersonate Sunshine Coast mayor as experts warn of video call cybercrime tactic
Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli says her image was used in a "distressing and concerning" incident. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Bree Dwyer)
Authorities are investigating a sophisticated new cybercrime tactic using artificial intelligence to impersonate people on live video calls.
Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli contacted Queensland Police and the Australian Cyber Security Centre after her image was used in a "distressing and concerning" incident.
"A friend of mine sent me a text saying, 'this might sound strange, but did we just talk on Skype?'," Ms Natoli said.
"And my response was, 'no, we did not' and I picked up the phone immediately.
"What this friend told me is that this looked like me but didn't sound like me — that's when we started to realise that this might be something that is going to progress further."
Scammer sophistication
Cr Natoli said scammers had been using her name and image on Facebook for a long time.
Police are investigating an artificial intelligence scam using Rosanna Natoli's image. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Bree Dwyer)
"The fake accounts look like my accounts because they are taking my posts and reposting," she said.
One profile has more than 1,000 followers and has been building relationships with potential victims.
"Just recently, via Messenger, these people have been asking for bank account details," she said.
"At first I just thought, 'oh that's a bit annoying', but as it increased in its intensity and sophistication, that's when we brought it to the attention of the experts."
A fake profile using Rosanna Natoli's name and photo has more than 1,000 followers. (Supplied)
Queensland Police Acting Superintendent Chris Toohey said crimes related to artificial intelligence had grown exponentially over the past couple of years.
"Cybercrime is an unfortunate consequence of us getting the benefits of making life easier with technology," he said.
"It brings the fraudulent offenders into that realm, and they can operate well.
"It's about the trickery and the coercion through that almost grooming process, where they're starting that back and forth to gain the trust of people."
Acting Superintendent Chris Toohey says crimes relating to AI are rising exponentially. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Bree Dwyer)
Very discerning eye needed to pick a fake
Cybercrime expert Dr Declan Humphreys from University of the Sunshine Coast said live facial altering technology is highly convincing and hard to spot.
Experts say the potential for scams using AI is "just beginning". (ABC News: Lisa Batty)
"The AI can recognise the scammer's face; it then also has an overlay of the face that scammers are trying to impersonate," Dr Humphreys said.
"Then it can manipulate that new face to match what the scammers are doing.
"It's using AI technology in real time to adapt and change their face, to the face of the person who they're impersonating.
"It takes a very discerning eye to be able to see if these images or these videos are fake."
Dr Humphreys said the potential for scams is "just beginning".
"We're seeing it particularly in the realm of romance scams, where traditionally people would use messaging or even phone calls to scam people out of money," he said.
Impersonation becoming easier
Celebrities and politicians are prime targets for online impersonators due to the quantity of data about them online.
"It's very easy to use that data to then create these personas," Dr Humphreys said.
Cr Natoli said her former career as a television presenter provided ample content.
"If you're looking at somebody who has spoken a lot and been on video a lot, that would be me," the mayor said.
"That's something that I'm really concerned about, because I do have this position in our community, and I would really be distressed if people were being impacted."
But new technology means people with relatively small digital footprints are still at risk.
"The speed that AI is developing also means that these types of scams are developing really very quickly," Dr Humphreys said.
"Parents, for example, have gotten calls of scammers impersonating their sons or their daughters.
New technology is allowing social media scams to become more sophisticated. (AP: Jenny Kane)
"They've used snippets from their voice, used AI then to develop it into a realistic-sounding voice that parents even believe is their child.
"It's really possible for AI technology to take that snippet of what you're saying at your child's birthday party or amongst friends, then change it, track it and then make it into an AI program."
Difficult crimes to trace
Acting Superintendent Toohey said authorities were putting significant manpower into investigating the fake Rosanna Natoli profile but online crimes were often difficult to trace.
"People can live remotely and come online from virtually any place in the world," he said.
"We tend to find that it gets very difficult as soon as it leaves our border."
Acting Superintendent Toohey said people who encounter any suspicious accounts that ask for money or bank details should immediately cut contact and file a police report.
"We have got an online set-up for them to go and make a complaint and we will then assess it straight away," he said.
"Any information they can provide on a contact they've had, screenshots, any communication they can forward to us."
While scammers are getting harder to identify, Dr Humphreys said they often have one discernible trait.
"They will try to pressure you into making a decision really quickly," he said.
"So, put the phone down, step up way for five or 10 minutes, talk to somebody else, ask them, 'does this sound real?'
"Then that distance can actually give you that clarity to think, 'oh, maybe this isn't exactly what I think it is'."