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When it comes to fighting online fraud, AARP is enlisting Google as an ally.
AARP’s director of fraud prevention programs Kathy Stokes sat down with Laurie Richardson, vice president for Trust & Safety at Google, to discuss how artificial intelligence has changed the online landscape and presents new challenges, especially when it comes to high-tech scams. In a Q&A published on Google's Public Policy page, the two cover the latest innovations to protect older adults from fraud and how to improve digital literacy.
Communication and collaboration between organizations like Google and AARP help raise awareness, educate consumers and defend against these kinds of cyber threats. In 2022, thanks to a tip from the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline, Google successfully prosecuted its first consumer protection lawsuit. The scammer in this case was misusing Gmail and Google Voice to target older adults during the pandemic.
This type of teamwork keeps everyone safer online. “AARP research shows that people who trust technology do embrace technology,” Stokes said.
A fraud revolution
AI has become a powerful weapon for criminals, Stokes said in the interview.
“The ability of AI to improve and scale scam tactics is the equivalent of the Industrial Revolution for fraud criminals,” Stokes said. She cites an example of the “grandparent scam” where an impersonated grandchild claims they are facing an emergency and are in desperate need of financial help. AI technology that can mimic voices now makes this tactic a lot more convincing.
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But the same AI technology can also be deployed to fight back. Consumers want to see industry prioritize fraud detection with AI, Stokes said.
Google is building those new tools, Richardson noted. Gmail now blocks 99.9 percent of scams, she said, and “on Android devices we are using AI to automatically detect and flag scam calls.”
The challenge is to stay ahead of “every shift in technology” Richardson said.
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