"Anthony, an older man from California, told ABC7 Los Angeles last October that he had been scammed out of $25,000 by means of a voice generated by artificial intelligence. Anthony, who declined to give his last name, got a call from his son, as he believed, who told him that he'd gotten into a car accident and hit a pregnant woman who was hospitalized."
"Soon after Anthony hung up, another person called claiming to be his son's lawyer. This caller said that $9,200 was needed immediately for bail or else Anthony's son would be jailed for a month and a half. AI has brought to a boil a problem that has been simmering for several decades. Older adults report financial exploitation to be the most frequent form of abuse they experience, with estimated annual losses as high as $28 billion in the U.S. alone."
"As the fastest-growing and wealthiest segment of the population, currently controlling 65 percent of the U.S.'s total wealth and $13 trillion in home equity wealth, older adults are increasingly likely to be targeted by scammers. Their vulnerability to scams stems from the many and diverse challenges of aging. These include declines in cognition, alterations in life circumstances (such as the death of a spouse) and difficulty keeping up with the constantly changing technological landscape."
An older Californian named Anthony lost $25,000 after receiving a voice-generated call impersonating his son, followed by callers posing as lawyers demanding bail payments. The scammers first demanded $9,200, then increased the demand by $15,800 after claiming the accident victim had died, and Anthony paid both sums. Financial exploitation of older adults is described as the most frequent form of abuse, with annual U.S. losses estimated as high as $28 billion. Older adults control a disproportionate share of wealth and home equity, and age-related cognitive decline, changes in life circumstances, and unfamiliarity with technology increase scam vulnerability.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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