Authorities warn vs callbot scam

Scammers are now using artificial intelligence (AI) to create deepfake callbots.

According to a "24 Oras" report by Darlene Cay on Friday, 25-year-old Camille Velasco said that she almost fell victim to a scammer that posed as an internet service provider.

She said that she moved to her new residence a month before the call took place.

“Nakakapagtaka na alam niya agad yung bagong address ko, pero parang benefit of the doubt. Nagpakabit ako ng internet kaya meron siyang details ko,” she said.

(It was puzzling because they already knew my new address, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I availed of internet service, and that's why they have my details.)

Velasco noted that the call, which she recorded, sounded professional.

She noticed that the caller had repeated one of the questions that she didn’t answer in the same tone and words, which made her think it was either AI or a callbot.

While it was unclear if she had been talking to a scam bot, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) shared that bot scams using AI systems do exist.

“It’s called agentic AI. It mimics processes, tsaka parang meron din siyang recognition ng mga tanong. Then, ginagamitan din siya ng deepfake technology wherein yung parang boses, hindi na siya robotic, tao na siya,” said CICC Executive Director Undersecretary Aboy Paraiso.

(It’s called agentic AI. It mimics processes, and it also recognizes questions. Then, it also uses deepfake technology wherein the voice doesn’t sound robotic but human.)

CICC said that scammers get information about potential victims from hacked government or company data. During the call, scammers can gather other sensitive information to access personal accounts.

“Lalo na sa pag-transfer ng funds, pag-transfer ng [e-money] from our bank accounts here in the Philippines,” he added.

(Especially for fund transfers, or [e-money] transfers from our bank accounts here in the Philippines.)

Scammers can record your voice during conversations and use it to make deepfakes to deceive your friends and family.

“The technology gets better … It's almost impossible to tell now if you're hearing someone if that's really their authentic voice or if it's an AI-generated voice,” said Dominic Ligot, director for AI Ethics and Data Governance, Philippine AI Business Association.

Authorities remind the public to avoid answering unknown numbers and giving out sensitive information over the phone. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/VBL, GMA Integrated News