Cybercriminals using AI chatbots to write grammatically correct phishing emails, warn experts

Threat actors are having a field day as chatbots are allowing them to remove glaring grammatical and language mistakes from their fraudulent emails and texts. European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL) has released an advisory about the criminal use of ChatGPT and other Large Language Models (LLMs).

"ChatGPT’s ability to draft highly realistic text makes it a useful tool for phishing purposes. The ability of LLMs to re-produce language patterns can be used to impersonate the style of speech of specific individuals or groups," read the EUROPOL advisory. "This capability can be abused at scale to mislead potential victims into placing their trust in the hands of criminal actors."

Cybersecurity experts in the UK have said that phishing emails, written using bots had seen a significant uptick in recent months - especially after the meteoric rise of ChatGPT. Criminals were now crafting perfectly written emails that could easily fool the majority of the public.

“What we think is having an immediate impact on the threat landscape is that this type of technology is being used for better and more scalable social engineering: AI allows you to craft very believable ‘spear-phishing’ emails and other written communication with very little effort, especially compared to what you have to do before,"Max Heinemeyer, chief product officer at UK-basedDarktrace cybersecurity firm was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

Watch |ChatGPT is making waves, but can it trusted?

AI-generated YouTube videos

Apart from helping phishing experts, hackers are using AI-generated videos on YouTube to spread malware and steal confidential information.

While earlier such videos used to have a screen recording or audio walkthrough, the new-age hackers had developed their tools using technology.

It is a well-known fact that watching a human face on the screen, especially with certain facial features increases familiarity and trustworthiness. The hackers play on this psychology and use AI tools to feature humans that sell the 'malware' packaged as a tutorial.

(With inputs from agencies)

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