LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is warning residents of potential scams during the holiday season.
“Now more than ever, you have bad actors out there that are trying to take advantage of people,” says Nessel. “So we're really advising people before you go full force into your holiday shopping, please … take 10 or 15 minutes to peruse our website. We really have everything on there.”
Nessel’s office doesn’t want you to fall victim to scams as Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday approach. She says scammers are preying on shoppers in more ways than they had before. One new tactic involves the use of artificial intelligence.
The so-called “grandparent scam” makes use of AI to clone a person’s voice, which is then used to create a story meant to scare their loved ones. That voice may impersonate a grandchild — or any relative — needing immediate financial attention.
“Whenever you have a situation involving artificial intelligence, it's also never a bad idea to ask that person a question that only they would know,” says Nessel. “If somebody's purporting to be your … grandson, you know, ‘What was the name of your baseball team in the third grade?’ You know, ‘What play did you star in when you were in middle school?’ You know, ‘What's your favorite band?’ I mean, there's a lot of different things you can ask, and very quickly you'll get a sense of whether you're really talking to the right person or not. And oftentimes you're just going to get a hang-up.”
AI is only one tactic scammers may use during the holidays. Be advised of other methods like website spoofing, phishing emails, fake charities and others.
Visit the attorney general’s website for more on common holiday scams.
Watch our full interview with Nessel below:
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