By REBECCA RUTHERFORD
Los Alamos
At this point we’ve probably all heard of or seen A.I. generated images… Weird Al Yankovic eating froyo on Mars, Extreme Viking cheese eating festivals, Hot magma bathing competitions, etc. Pretty silly, right? But did you know that A.I. can be used to produce x-rated images of you and your loved ones, and then used against you in sextortion schemes? It’s true, and the FBI is warning Americans to watch out in an alert published this week, here.
What is sextortion? Sextortion is a form of online blackmail where bad actors threaten their targets with explicit images and videos they stole (through hacking) or acquired (through coercion), typically demanding money payments for not releasing the material. In this case, the content is actually created by the bad actors via A.I. In many cases the alleged explicit material doesn’t even exist, with the bad actors only pretending to have access.
According to the FBI’s latest alert, published on their IC3 portal: “As of April 2023, the FBI has observed an uptick in sextortion victims reporting the use of fake images or videos created from content posted on their social media sites or web postings, provided to the malicious actor upon request, or captured during video chats. Based on recent victim reporting, the malicious actors typically demanded: 1. Payment (e.g., money, gift cards) with threats to share the images or videos with family members or social media friends if funds were not received; or 2. The victim sends real sexually-themed images or videos.”
Courtesy/Becky Rutherford
…Yeah so, it’s pretty likely this isn’t one of the things he was imagining.
In some cases these “content creators” skip the extortion part and post their newly created videos straight to porn sites. Although the images aren’t real, thanks to the power of A.I. they can look very real, and could still cause great harm to a person’s reputation.
A.I. is becoming ever more powerful, and even easier to use thanks to publicly available resources like Github, which offers multiple content creation tools for free. These tools require little training to use and are incredibly easy to abuse. Some of the tools offer some built in protections, but additional tools are available on the dark web. These tools are basically point and click, and it’s simple to “create content” with them.
Example of a porn creation tool available on the dark web. Source: Kaspersky. Courtesy/Becky Rutherford
In addition to adults, minors are being targeted by these criminals. The FBI recommends parents talk with their children about the risks associated with online social media, and try to maintain some awareness of their online activities.
The FBI recommends that anyone who suspects they are caught in a sextortion scam to report it online or call their local FBI field office. Individuals and families can limit their potential exposure to such schemes by using caution when posting material or interacting with strangers online, the IC3 warning says. If a minor has been impacted, they can use the takedown service from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Other suggestions from the FBI alert include:
- Run frequent online searches on you and your children’s information (e.g., full name, address, phone number, etc.) to help identify any exposure and spread of personal information online.
- Consider using reverse image search engines to locate any photos or videos that have circulated on the internet without your knowledge.
Remember, if you get a social media message or email about explicit pictures, it’s a scam. Most likely scenario is they don’t have anything and are just trying to mess with you, if they have produced A.I. generated images you have resources online that can help. The important thing here is not to panic, to remain calm and either ignore the messages or contact your local FBI field office if you think deep fake images are involved. If you discover deep fake content depicting you on porn or other sites, report it to the authorities and contact the hosting platform to request the removal of the offending media.