Artificial Intelligence has opened up a perilous new front. The city urgently requires measures to safeguard inhabitants from malicious fraud schemes.
In January 2023, when Arizona resident Jennifer DeStefano answered a call from an unfamiliar phone number, she initially thought it might be coming from the doctor’s office. However, what she heard instead made her heart race—a sound resembling her daughter sobbing followed by a man yelling in the distance: “Lie down and tilt your head back.”
“Mom, these evil guys have me. Save me! Save me!” she believed her daughter was crying out. DeStefano negotiated with the person on the phone, who requested $1 million, but they finally agreed on $50,000.
Prior to handing over any funds, another parent alerted DeStefano that this situation might be an AI scam. Ultimately, DeStefano managed to contact her daughter, verifying that she was unharmed. This whole incident, which DeStefano recounted during testimony at a US Senate judiciary committee hearing, proved to be an elaborate deception orchestrated through AI technology. DeStefano feels certain that her daughter had been targeted in this scheme.
voice had been cloned
using synthetic audio technology.
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The American mother’s nightmare is now becoming a reality in Hong Kong. As one of the world’s most digitally connected cities, Hong Kong faces similar threats from increasingly powerful AI deception. Our city is no stranger to online scams. According to official statistics, deception caused residents to
lose HK$8.52 billion
(US$1.1 billion) during the first eleven months of 2024 alone.
AI has opened up a perilous new front, amplifying online fraud through enhanced capabilities.
cloning of voices and faces
With an illusionary level of authenticity, this significantly reduces the expense associated with online deceit, facilitating large-scale fraud swiftly. The technological progress underlying deepfakes has been so swift that we currently do not have adequate methods to distinguish between falsehoods and truths.
Several months back, a radio and TV personality from Hong Kong
Sammy Leung Chi-kin
received a video call from someone claiming to be an actress
Sandra Ng Kwan-yue
, who asserted that “a filmmaker had
sold her to Cambodia
” and asked Leung for HK$5,000 so she could “buy a ticket for a boat ride back to Hong Kong”. Though Leung was discerning enough to see through the AI ruse, many others, especially the elderly and young, might lack the technological proficiency and awareness to recognise such falsehoods.
This poses significant risks, especially for younger individuals in our city. In January, the University of Hong Kong reported that over 60 students were affected.
had fallen prey
In recent months, scammers have targeted individuals with highly elaborate schemes. One such scam involved a student transferring HK$1.8 million to someone posing as an officer from the Immigration Department. As a result, students were forced to part with over HK$60 million altogether. The total number of university students affected by these scams has been significant.
rose
From an average of 24 per month from July to September last year to 91 in October.
Deepfakes are
proving more effective
than simple cons, substituting lighthearted pranks over the phone with highly authentic and emotionally manipulating impersonations of close relatives or famous personalities. Despite being adept at using technology, young individuals’ extensive online activity renders them more susceptible when fraudsters utilize increasingly advanced tools to deceive them. A study published in October 2024 by TransUnion indicated that 51 percent of Generation Z participants reported having fallen victim to such schemes.
targeted by scammers
over the last quarter.
Scammers intimidate students by threatening to utilize AI for generating content.
fake compromising images
Based on innocuous images lifted from their social media accounts. Scammers are also becoming more adept at this technique.
target single men
and women with deepfake video calls to establish trust before setting emotional traps and requesting money.
The costs of these scams are more than financial. Last year, a 19-year-old student new to Hong Kong fell victim to one of these scams. The scammer convinced him that he was implicated in a money-laundering case. Tormented by guilt, he eventually took his own life. His case is far from an isolated one as around 20 per cent of scam victims in Hong Kong have reported
having suicidal thoughts
.
We need to take action to tackle this issue.
public safety crisis
Before additional individuals succumb to frauds. Our city’s unique characteristics render us particularly susceptible. The dense populace permits con artists to easily transition from online trickery to closely approaching their victims.
Our position as a global financial hub creates lucrative targets. The multicultural, multilingual milieu cloaks voice or linguistic inconsistencies, muffling the very cues that might otherwise raise alarm.
As the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau adjusts,
spike in digital crimes
indicates that additional safeguards are necessary. In the absence of extensive public awareness initiatives about the risks associated with AI-created synthetic content, numerous individuals will likely remain vulnerable to fraudulent activities. Apart from educating the general populace, it is essential for parents and legal custodians to frequently monitor their children’s online activity. Furthermore, educational institutions ought to incorporate
AI literacy
into their curriculum.
Avoiding the threats posed by deepfakes necessitates combining policy, education, and technology into a strong cord that guides society towards safer territory.
Like Plato cautioned in his parable of the cave, we can no longer merely believe the shadows flickering on the walls. It is essential for us to cultivate the discernment needed to differentiate between manufactured reverberations and genuine authenticity. In an age after lost faith, when appearances and sounds can be easily manipulated,
can be pilfered
, Hong Kong must lead in reimagining safety for the AI age.
Our city has prospered through embracing technological advancements, yet this progress now necessitates that we challenge our perceptions of reality, even when these come from individuals we trust. Just like dealing with spam,
flooded our inboxes
Eventually, deepfakes may overwhelm our current communication pathways unless we implement filters to block this clutter.
The digital and real realms have become intricately intertwined. Safeguarding our future necessitates a shared awareness of the risks associated with artificial content and a dedication to fostering a more perceptive and robust society.
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The article initially appeared on the South ChinaMorning Post (www.scmp.com), which is the premier source for news coverage of China and Asia.
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