Ask HN: How to protect old parents from evolving AI based scams? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: How to protect old parents from evolving AI based scams?

#11

Post by badrunaway » Wed, Jun 26, 2024, 5:04 PM UTC

JohnFen wrote: post #9

badrunaway wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, my reasoning is little stupid but it goes like this. I am in my 30s. Let's say if I lose all my money in a scam also - I have time to earn it back and still make it back. Whereas our elders (parents are 60+) who have savings and rely on their savings and can't really earn now - and also have lot of medical bills to pay with their age ==== for them it's like one-shot ending right? That's why I considered them as s…

That's not stupid reasoning, and I don't know you or your parents. But in the short snippet you wrote, I was interpreting your question as being based on the supposition that your parents are somehow too naive or inexperienced to understand and protect themselves. That's the part that I question. Particularly since the answer to your question is no different than if you asked the question about anybody of any age.

I guess I need to tell them to not even send any personal detail / bank detail to anyone including me. I sort of felt like may be there is a better solution than just trusting them to follow this. Like we have insurance for death kind of scenarios and medical insurance.. some sort of systematic protection would have been better.

Re: Ask HN: How to protect old parents from evolving AI based scams?

#12

Post by talldayo » Wed, Jun 26, 2024, 5:15 PM UTC

fragmede wrote: post #10

talldayo wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my parents would also do the same for me/ and everyone's would Mine wouldn't? That's an obvious phone scam, they would call me directly before wiring $500 to some unproven weirdo over the phone. > how the fuck we are support to assume people won't give emotional response? For the same reason you assume people won't immediately become greedy when a Nigerian Prince emails them about an excellent opportunity to earn a…

The same attack used to get SMS 2fa tokens can be used to capture incoming calls from your parents or grand parents. How is calling "you" going to protect you?

So my grandparents call me, get their call intercepted by a malicious MITM. The worst-case scenario! My AI counterpart is screaming over the line, saying that my legs are only moments away from being sawed off by the mysterious phone-operator that would only identify himself as "the Butcher".

They ask me what my middle name is, and my AI counterpart stops. 10-15 seconds go by, with the halloween chain-rattling CD spinning away in the background. The AI answers correctly in stunted breath, and my grandparents hang up so they can move on with their day. They've been getting calls like this for the past 30 years trying to convince them a family member desperately needs their Social Security number over the landline. If they fall for an AI-generated voice from an unknown caller I'd be genuinely surprised. These are decades-old social engineering scripts, people.

Re: Ask HN: How to protect old parents from evolving AI based scams?

#13

Post by k310 » Wed, Jun 26, 2024, 5:18 PM UTC

Suggest that they trust nobody. Ordinary folks don’t have the expertise to track down phishing emails, and most certainly, malicious links anywhere. Ask a techie? I offer that for family and friends.

As for voice fakes, these are wicked. Some have suggested using a secret codeword with relatives who might be faked for ransom demands etc.

I don’t even want to click on the “personalized” URL that my auto service provider sends, as that might encourage the salespeople. But they hide the tracking URL.

If it takes hovering over every URL for a hardened techie like me, pity the average person.

Thinking about a home proxy box to sanitize things. ISP’s won’t do it because they are in on the scams (IMO) and outside and AV services cost to do a nontrivial job.

Have been thinking about this for some time. Has to be dead-simple, bulletproof and zero-maintenance. Not much to ask?