MILLBURY, Ohio — Artificial intelligence has shown it's a technology that can be helpful. But when it's in the wrong hands, it can be used to scam unsuspecting people out of hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars.
"This AI scares me because I'm 84," Sandy Blausey, who attended an educational session on the dangers of AI hosted by the Lake Township Police Department Tuesday, said. I'm not so sharp on this stuff."
For many, the buzz of their cellphone is a very familiar sound. And while it could be a phone call from a family member, friend or someone else important, it could also be a scammer.
So, Lake Township police taught seniors about the dangers of AI being used to mimic the voices of people they know in an attempt to scam them.
You get a call and it sounds like that person, except it's not actually them. It's artificial intelligence and it's a problem many people are facing.
Blausey said she was almost the victim of a scam.
"It's scary, I mean, my heart was going fast. You don't know what you've gotten into," she said.
She had the scammer on the phone, drove to her bank and was able to catch them before any money was taken. Blausey was lucky, but others aren't.
That's why Lake Township police are now warning people about the dangers of AI and how easy it is to be scammed.
"I've been doing this for 49 years," Officer Ron Craig said. "Crime prevention and community policing for 49 years and this is absolutely the scariest thing I've ever seen."
Craig is Lake Township's Crime and Prevention Officer and said the biggest concern is that these callers actually sound like someone you know.
"They found a way for somebody, or a voice, to mimic that voice so that people are not actually talking to who they think they are talking to," Craig said.
A scam can happen anywhere, to anyone and on any device.
"It's almost like they get the older people. It seems that way," Blausey said. "I suppose they get younger ones, but I know that older ones get in trouble with it."
Lake Township police say you can't get rid of all your technology, so you have to look for the red flags.
"If I know the number is being spoofed or ghosted that I'm getting the call from, I will confront them right away," Craig said.
So what is the best way to protect yourself? Read up on AI and scams, Craig said.
Also, never give your personal information out over the phone, and ask the scammer questions to try to determine if the call is real or not.