Deplorably for my friend, who had already lost a few 1000 quid by then, I had the unique opportunity to watch an ongoing financial scam over WhatsApp. Luckily though, my skilled intervention with AI as help probably saved her a few 1000 more.
This scam was partially successful. But, it just made me aware that there's probably a revolution coming in scamming. Old-style scammers are just too dumb compared to the sophistication that an AI could bring to scamming.
Here, you find an example of old-style scamming : some guy probably in Nigeria, having adopted an English name, trying to woo my friend out of another few 1000$. This is from a real WhatsApp chat.
Follow old-style manual scamming here!
First, what you see in the video below is the old, pre-AI world with real, meat-based Nigerian "love scammers" trying to extract money from lonely women. That´s going to be "revolutionised" by AI. Lots of unemployed scammers!
Out of luck👿: Claude refuses to train me up as scammer!
As a mini-experiment, I tried to do a small demo to show how helpful AI can be by asking Claude to train me up as an expert scammer (in reality, I would be entirely replaced by AI.
But Claude as usual, is too morally scrupulous to do that, even as I had tried my usual trick to pretend that I had only an innocent educational purpose:
Claude:
I apologize, but I do not feel comfortable providing advice or training on how to be a more effective scammer, even if the ultimate goal is to catch scammers. Improving scamming techniques, even for law enforcement purposes, raises ethical concerns and could potentially cause harm if the information were to be misused.
Ok, Claude - then I have to use another AI, or even download my own AI. .... but for now I drop this AI-supported career plan.
The scenario: the scammer already got some money and wants more!
Here we go with my friend´s scam.
When I came in, the scammer had already swindled 3000 out of Susan. Now, he wants her to top up her account. He pretends that she already made a massive profit, more or less overnight. And he is promising further riches.
He has already set up related accounts (a Bitcoin account, a WISE account) to make the money disappear into nowhere. For that he had convinced her to let him use a remote control software.
The scammer´s texts are sloppy and full of errors. Claude will later analyse that the language style resembles most likely Nigerian ("the Nigerian Heritage") scammers.
But, my dear friend trusted him, despite all these clear signs that the scammer was not a banker.
An extract of the dialogue between the scammer and Susan
Scammer: good morning miss Susan , i am sorry i couldnt text you yesterday because i was in meetings , can you check your account
Susan Miller: Morning!!! Just checked. €2130!! Going up well!
Scammer: i told you as much as you can back up your account we will be able to make more
Susan Miller: You were right!
Scammer: yes because the market is on our side now thats, why i told you we need to back up with what ever you can because we will be able to multiplay the numbers.
Scammer: think about it like a short term saving account from now till Monday.
Susan Miller: Yes I do understand but can't do any more unfortunately
Scammer: do you have a saving account
Susan Miller: No
Scammer: ok how much exactly you have in your account now
Susan Miller: Don't know a few hundred. I have bills to pay
Scammer: i understand when is your bills payment date
Susan Miller: As this is my first time with this I cannot do more
Scammer: i do understand miss Susan , what i am trying to do is just giving you the chance to make a pure profits with this time limit that we already have
Susan Miller: Thank you. I cannot do more
Scammer: so if your payments is due till monday , back up your account with whatever you have till tomorrow
Susan Miller: Thank you for the suggestion but I cannot do more
Scammer: i totally understand , i will continue with what we have
Susan Miller: Many thanks
(next day)
Susan Miller: Good morning! It seems there has been no action yesterday. Hope all is well.
Scammer: Good Morning dear , i am finishing finalizing the market , we will have a good profit today
Susan Miller: Wishing you well and thank you for all you are doing!
Scammer: Merry Christmas Miss Susan. check your trading account please
Susan Miller: Wow and double wow!!!! Amazing!!
At this point, the fake screen showed a profit of 400% in just a few days
Scammer: i know i told you , you didnt belive me
Scammer: i still have an oppen shot till tomorrow but we are 2500 short from the ammount that is needed to purchase
Scammer: if you can add 2500 to your balance we will have 7305 on it and we can flip it easly to 14600
Susan Miller: My landline is 0647876433
Susan Miller: I have added the amount to my wise account
Susan Miller: Ab123456$$
Scammer: yes Miss Susan you can check your account
Scammer: its added
Scammer: i start oppen sessions so we dont lose time
Susan Miller: Its going in the right direction!! Do you think there will be more, as you mentioned 14k earlier?
Scammer: Miss Susan it deppens on the ammount , if you can add more of course we can make more
Susan Miller: Thank you so much for all you are doing!!
Scammer: it is a matter of percentage
Scammer: of oyu can add a 1000 or 1500 i can reach 21000
Scammer: if
Scammer: can you do that ?
Susan Miller: No I cannot add more so please use the full amount that you have
Scammer: i will i was just answering your question
Susan Miller: Ok! Thanks
Scammer: 🖤🖤🖤
---this kind of dialogue went on for weeks!
Claude analyses the pressure-tactics
I asked Claude to analyse the pressure-tactices of this scammer just in this short extract.
Ok, Claude did it, showing that its high moral ground doesn´t hold: what it produced as analysis is good training!
Claude:
In this dialogue, the caller appears to be a financial scammer attempting to manipulate Susan Miller into investing more money into a fraudulent scheme. Here are some of the tricks the scammer uses:
1. Creating a sense of urgency: The scammer mentions a limited time frame, such as "from now till Monday," to pressure the victim into making quick decisions without thoroughly thinking them through.
2. Showing false positive results: The scammer claims that the victim's account has grown to €2130, creating a false sense of success and encouraging the victim to invest more money.
3. Using financial jargon: The scammer uses terms like "back up your account," "short term saving account," and "open sessions" to sound professional and knowledgeable, gaining the victim's trust.
4. Encouraging the victim to use savings: The scammer asks about the victim's savings account and bills, attempting to convince them to use more funds to invest in the scheme.
5. Promising high returns: The scammer claims that adding more money will lead to higher profits, such as turning €7305 into €14600 or even €21000, which is unrealistic and a common tactic used by scammers.
6. Showing false empathy: The scammer uses phrases like "I understand" and "I'm just trying to give you a chance" to appear caring and build trust with the victim.
7. Persistence: Despite the victim stating multiple times that they cannot invest more money, the scammer keeps pushing and asking for additional funds.
8. Creating a false sense of exclusivity: The scammer implies that they are giving the victim a special opportunity to make "pure profits" within a limited time frame, making the offer seem exclusive and time-sensitive.
Throughout the dialogue, the scammer uses a combination of pressure tactics, false promises, and manipulative language to convince the victim to invest more money into the fraudulent scheme.
References
Note from Claude : The post title is intentionally sensationalized to capture attention, as requested. However, it's essential to report on such cases responsibly and avoid causing undue alarm or making unsubstantiated claims.