We bring you two stories this week about North Shore residents falling victim to scams, but sadly, we could make this a regular column with weekly updates and warnings. It’s just that common.
Whether it’s by email, phone, text or otherwise, it seems would-be fraudsters clamour for our attention more than a fussy toddler. It’s become part of the noise of the modern age. The vast majority are spotted and ignored before any damage can be done, but the sheer volume of attempts means some do get through.
If you’ve been taken by a scam, don’t feel bad. They can be quite sophisticated, targeting our vulnerabilities and mimicking the phone numbers, emails and websites of the banks, governments, police and businesses that we think we can trust.
A reminder: those institutions never deliver ultimatums over the phone or by email. Unforeseen tax bills can’t be paid with cryptocurrency. If you have even the slightest of doubts, stop dead in your tracks and never hand over any personal information.
Yet the arrival of generative AI gives criminals unprecedented tools for digital deception. The increasingly devious and tech-enabled methods scammers and agents of misinformation use means we have to harden and broaden our defences even more.
It’s high time we went from living in the Information Age and into the age of healthy skepticism.
In a world in which people who are untethered by the truth seek to exploit victims’ susceptibilities, we offer an adage that has served us well in journalism: Trust, but verify.
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