#AI-generated scams

[pwrn51]

5 Safest States vs. Scam Risks:Protect Your Finances

  In this episode of Scam DamNation, host Lillian Cauldwell explores the 5 states where scams run rampant and the 5 states where you’re safest. It’s crucial to arm yourself with this knowledge to safeguard your home and finances. With the rise of artificial intelligence, scams and fraud are becoming increasingly sophisticated, preying on the elderly, the young, and everyone in between. Learn how…

[softwaring]

we’re really out here living in an AI dystopian hellscape and this shit has just begun… the future is grim…

[sixthrock]

the Fun Gang visits the Willy Wonka Experience ™️

[littlealienproducts]

AI and PDF Crochet Patterns

AI generated images can be great for inspiring projects, but most of the time it's used online to generate revenue for scammers and the like.

Just scrolling through Etsy rn looking for crochet patterns, I've come across several listings (some with false 5 star reviews to boost engagement/trust) where the patterns and images are clearly AI generated and people, unfortunately, have fallen for the listings.

Some of the images might look totally obvious to you, but to the untrained eye they can be convincing.

SOOO, how do you spot AI crochet patterns?

Look at the stitches. Are there pieces that don't seem to stitch into one another? Are the lengths and sizes inconsistent? Some are more obvious than others, but AI fails to replicate consistent textures.

Lighting and saturation. AI images often are vibrant and cartoon-ish. Especially the eyes of projects - usually this is a pretty good giveaway. Additionally, is the image smooth? What's in the background? Does it make sense?

Limited photos on listing. Most legitimate shops are going to have multiple photos of the finished project on the listing - AI is fairly advanced, but not the best at recreating exact images. Does the listing only have one photo? Does it have multiple but with variants between projects (that are meant to be the same)? Are there any videos?

Is it even possible? This can be tricky if you are new to crochet, but as above, take a moment to look at the stitches and the overall shape of the project. Does it look plausable? Especially if they projects say 'no sew'. Additionally, if you have already purchased the pattern - does it tell you how much material you need, and does it make sense? Does it tell you crochet hook size?

Legit photo but AI generated pattern. Sometimes the images are real - but they've been stolen from another creators account and the scam shop has simply asked AI (such as ChatGPT) to write up a crochet pattern. These are less obvious at a glance, but most reputable shops will have social media, consistent themes of crochet projects and reviews with pictures of finished products uploaded by customers.

6. Ok, but what if they use AI but the reviews seem legit? Crochet Baby Duck - this is an AI generated picture and pattern, and while the shop has posted several pictures of the finished project it is clear that it does not match up with the AI generated duck pictured in the listing. The hat, feet, and bill are all different sizes and this is even noted in some of the customer reviews. While this isn't as scammy as straight up using AI generated images/patterns without showing how the finished project looks - it is still taking away from legitimate pattern makers. Being able to design and execute good patterns is a skill, and the prices of legitimate patterns often reflect this. Why does the shop even use AI pictures if they post the real life projects anyway? Cus it drives traffic, and lets be real - the real life plush dolls look no where near as good as the AI images.

This is the same as the walrus - AI generated image and pattern, this is even endoresed by Etsy so you cannot rely on 'Etsy picks' being legitimate as they choose profits over morals.

These patterns are not just limited to Etsy, they are often on Pinterest or websites for 'free' to generate traffic and collect data (asking for your e-mail for the free pattern). Such as this Peacock Crochet IRL figure by u/Echo-o_0 on Reddit.

This is not just limited to crochet, I've seen it in sewing, knitting, and any other PDF downloads that you can purchase or get for free. Unfortunately, it is a simple way for people to make a quick but and face little to no consequences as their store *might* get deleted and even then, they can just start a new one up.

[deepdreamnights]

A British telecom company has made a generative AI bot that takes calls from scammers while impersonating a baffled old grandmother that tells meandering stories and goes on weird tangents to waste the scammers' time while also recording everything to get information on their operations.

This is, in a word, awesome.

[werewolf-cuddles]

Man, seeing a GoFundMe scammer's "We're trying to escape Gaza, I promise I'm definitely not lying to steal your money" post having thousands of notes just fills me with disgust.

Like.. the fact this shit is actually working, that these scammers are successfully exploiting people's empathy and desire to help to con money out of them, it's absolutely infuriating to see.

Stop blindly promoting every GoFundMe you see, for fucks sake. Learn to recognize when people are trying to con you. Just because they claim their fundraiser has been "verified" doesn't mean it actually is.

Even having photos attached to it isn't proof. Those could easily be stolen from elsewhere, and I've definitely seen at least one post that blatantly used AI generated bullshit.

I understand being desperate to do something, but no, this ain't it chief.

[habbohoteldotdk]

in a world where AI is being increasingly used for illegal purposes, specifically sex-related offenses (see this report from the department of homeland security on the impact of AI in criminal and illicit activities and where & how it is most used), not having pictures of oneself freely available on the Internet will become a privilege, specifically childhood pics. really I cannot believe we share this planet and breathe the same air as the man being talked about in this screenshot

[jacepi-time]

Being so self-righteous that you refuse to listen to criticism about scams and believe any liar on the internet doesn't help victims, it just puts money in the pockets of thieves

Your acts of self-righteous wrath is vigilantly stamping out voices crying for justice and stealing money from victims to fill a con man's pocket

[hollowsart]

at this point you could make a horror game that starts off as a cutesy anime inspired rpg maker game but every character the MC encounters that is supposedly human has some weird non human elements. the impossible clothing, the abnormal hands and eyes.. ears that go into their hair.. broken and floating "jewelry".. everything is just so... Off. Uncanny.

and soon the MC realizes that they're in an ai generated nightmare. turns into a completely different game where the characters around the MC are melting and chasing after them trying to say they're perfectly normal and human and not to run away. MC trying to find where they are, where to go, but any signs are just impossible to read. none of what's supposedly written on them is any sort of real language.

you could literally make this into a terrible video game concept. but it would be horror only for artists. the mere thought of this existing at all is terrifying alone.

[pwrn51]

Job Scam Alerts: What You Need to Know!

  In the latest episode of Scam DamNation, Ms. Cauldwell explains how job seekers can avoid scams during the application process or when accepting a job through a fraudulent interview. According to Axios, in 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported approximately 105,000 ‘business and job opportunity’ scams, with victims losing an estimated $450 million. This represents a significant…

[wensdaiambrose]

Ok it's that time again for me to say that AI is used by scammers on social media.

Can you point out what is wrong with these ai images?

Cause your grandma on Facebook can't.

Notice the repeated text?

The similar themes?

The lack of hands in every "first cake" photo?

Yes, a lot of the likes and comments are from other spam or scam accounts, but not all of them.

Teach the people in your life how to spot AI art and how to spot scammer and spam accounts.

[alex-kazbrekkersimp]

What the fuck have they done to my baby? What the fuck is that ai fucking boogyman looking shit?

[venezart]

APPLE’S REJECTION OF META AI TOOLS: A STANCE ON PRIVACY AND SECURITY

[mysbw]

Thieves look like your actual phone and bill companies now-- and real companies are using AI that will send false bills as well

If you get ANY kind of email, text or phone call re: bills you supposedly owe or services you bought being canceled, DO NOT REPLY DIRECTLY. Instead, go to the source of the service you use -- your phone company's official website, official bookmarks that you already have for all your services, official phone numbers listed on older regular bills you already received and paid -- and use those to find contact info. Then contact them directly and confirm that any demands for payment or threats of cancelation are real. Because honestly these days a con job can look like they are from a real business or real fundraiser, etc. And even a real company you use can now send you a false bill in error due to AI that doesn't actually work right.

And PLEASE talk to your elders about this; they are used to trusting phone calls and emails so please offer to go over any threats of cancelation or demands for payment with them before they reply to any emails. Also offer to set their phone up so they will only receive calls from known numbers already in their phone if that is an option.

[crownconstellation]

today in work with bri:

- had a customer who said she wanted to cancel her order because she asked chatgpt if we were a scam and i just stared at it for a minute

[palezineturkeydonkey]

I have just come across a most egregious website

"https://www.justhorseriders.co.uk/" is not a good source for equestrian information.

Its pages are riddled with poor writing, articles imitate quirky blogs whilst attempting to convey useful information, often information is repeated, nonsensical, unexplained or wrong. I strongly believe the entire site was written by chatGPT.

Not only that, the pages are infested with these AI images;

This is most horrendous when talking about equine health, these images poorly imitating diagrams are purely unhelpful and potentially harmful (Though I doubt someone could even believe any of them to be accurate) misinformation.

It seems that all of this is for money, click on any image on an article and you're sent to the store page. Most of these include, at the bottom, a section where the website answers what it deems common questions about the sort of product they are selling. You can find questions such as:

- What are horse riding socks for? -Are riding socks necessary? -Why do horse riders wear long socks? -Do you need long socks for horse riding? -Do you wear socks with riding boots?

The site seems to act like a retailer but I have a sneaking suspicion that it's freebooting. For instance, I looked at their Brogini boots, they are on this site half or a quarter the price you could find on Amazon or Brogini's own website.