When I worked at Accenture, I routinely failed the email phishing test.
Reprimanded by the email police, I had to take remedial scam email training. My coworkers (rightfully) chided me about it often.
Snake oil, timeshares, mail-order brides, amazing jobs, and Nigerian princes who just need some upfront funds to unlock the riches that they wish to share with you. They all poke right in the heart. Everybody — everybody — is susceptible to something, if even for just a moment in time.
Some are obvious, but many are not. Many look completely legit.
For me, it was a simple matter of not investing the time required to flesh it out as a scam. I just didn’t care. Those testers were good (enough) at making it look legit.
He/She is called scam “artist” because that’s what they are — an artist. They play on your emotions and use a bit of psychology to “get you.”
What does the future of scam artistry look like with AI?
Well, I assume the volume will ramp up exponentially. Given AI’s ability to try new and voluminous iterations quickly, I also suspect they’ll start honing in on each individual’s susceptibility. You’ll have to pay more attention.
Maybe AI filters will help combat.
But at the end of the day, AI is no artist. It’s a tool for the artist. Behind each scam is a human artist.
Find the artist, find the scam.
