Deep Fake Scams: Protecting Against Elder Fraud and AI Threats

Chilling Anecdote from Southern California

I was in Southern California last week and spoke with an advisor who relayed a chilling anecdote about the large tech firm her daughter works for. It's wild. On a Zoom call with all of the leadership of the company, the CEO asked the CFO to wire $7 million to a specific account. OK, unusual to do on a leadership Zoom call, but whatever, she is the CEO, she can do stuff like that. The CFO called her after the meeting to ask her about it, and the CEO said she had not been on the Zoom call at all. It was a live deep fake of her that no one caught on to while they were in the meeting. No one.

The Importance of Verifying Requests

Now, CFOs are in the business of being extremely careful with money, so it is not totally surprising that she checked on it. However, our older family members and clients are ripe to get ripped off by this technology.

The Growing Threat of Elder Fraud

Elder fraud is a massive business which is hard to quantify because many people are embarrassed that they were taken and do not report the crime. The estimates range from $3 billion to $28 billion in losses per year in the US. Estimates were up 11% in just one year from 2022 to 2023.

AI and Criminal Activity

AI is moving fast and, not surprisingly, criminals are receiving it with open arms. You may want to consider creating a secret password with your family as well as your clients in case you get a call or FaceTime from someone you clearly “recognize” who claims to be in an emergency situation requiring funds.

Establishing Safety Measures

After I left that meeting in sunny So Cal, I called my surviving parents, my wife, and sister and established our secret word in case this video gets twisted into a request for cash.

Let’s help each other stay safe.

About the Author:

Eben Burr is the President of Toews Asset Management and sits on the investment and compliance committees where he helps oversee the culture and direction of the firm. Toews specializes in creating strategies that attempt to limit portfolio losses in declining markets with the client’s financial and emotional wellbeing in mind. Eben is also the President of the Behavioral Investing Institute where he oversees the training of advisors to integrate relational, cognitive, and emotional elements with personal finance to build better plans and stronger bonds. Eben advocates bringing behavioral psychology, introspection, and empathy into portfolio construction, planning, and communication.  Eben lives in Manhattan with his wife, son, and lots of guitars.

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