The Federation Council warned about fraudsters faking photos of relatives

When hacking into messenger accounts, attackers began using neural networks to create fake photos and simulate the victim's communication style. This was announced on November 8 by Deputy Chairman of the Council for the Development of the Digital Economy at the Federation Council, Senator Artem Sheikin.

"If an attacker has access to previous conversations and correspondence, he can find out how the account owner communicates with relatives and friends, what names and nicknames he uses. Therefore, the message will not necessarily look like the same mailing to all contacts. The request can be customized to a specific recipient, reproducing the features of personal communication and the previous context. An additional confirmation may be a fake photo," he said in an interview with TASS.

The senator noted that such content simultaneously explains the refusal of a telephone conversation and convinces the victim of the authenticity of what is happening. In this case, the attackers may promise to return the funds within a few hours or days.

Sheikin stressed that in modern conditions it is not enough just to look for errors in the text or pay attention to unusual references. According to him, scammers are able to copy human behavior very accurately.

The parliamentarian advised that when receiving unexpected financial requests, contact your loved ones using a regular phone call by number, rather than via messenger. If it is not possible to contact directly, you should clarify the information through other relatives or mutual friends, the senator added.

"Even a convincing explanation of urgency, an attached photo, or a "video circle" should not be perceived as an indisputable truth. It is necessary to contact the person and confirm that he really needs help," the parliamentarian concluded.

Face in profile: how AI helps extortionists on dating sites

How people who are not looking for love meetings become victims of intimate blackmail.

Vladimir Maksimenko, Deputy General Director of the Znanie Society for security, said on November 8 that scammers on dating sites tend to quickly arouse emotional attachment in the victim, so the rapid development of relationships may be one of the main signs of deception. According to the expert, the sooner a fraudster manages to arouse romantic feelings in a person, the easier it is to convince him to lend money later, using the argument of the need to help a loved one. This tactic is known as "love bombing."