Artificial Intelligence is growing in popularity but it's also finding notoriety due to its use by fraudsters. RCMP Corporal Terry Sundell says apart from AI used in everyday life, there are easily accessible programs criminals can use to streamline their operations. 

"These programs are becoming more efficient, sophisticated and scalable, while still allowing them to evade detection and attribution to the scam. We haven't seen a major uptick in this trend, but it's definitely something that's coming on the radar worldwide, where we are seeing the possibility of much more realistic deep-fakes being used as a result of AI."

Sundell says some more sophisticated websites are copying another website using site disinformation campaigns, fraudulent social media profiles, and AI-powered scam bots that are constantly sending out messages, phone calls, and emails with phishing links in them. A phishing link is just a link that might entice the recipients of an e-mail with a message to try and log into one of their accounts, even though it's a fake e-mail. He explains this allows the criminal to steal your password information when you make that login attempt. 

"The sophisticated operations that we're seeing are where you receive text messages sent out saying, 'This is from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Please click on this link.' Or in recent days, there was even a text message sent out that was reported to our Selkirk detachment, where people were being advised via text that they received a speeding ticket. It entices them to click on a link that came within their text message. These types of operations are no doubt aided by some form of artificial intelligence. But to what extent, I'm not sure."

The growing concern Sundell notes is that a person with low-tech abilities can upscale their operation to send out many more messages with just a click of a button now, having a program or system in doing this.