SMS scams, fraudulent emails, booby-trapped sites… All it takes is one click to be fooled by these phishing attempts. But to ensure online security, McAfee experts recommend an unexpected solution.
Every day, a French person is confronted with nine online scam attempts. To steal money or personal data, hackers pretend to be our favorite brands, our bank, our postman, or even our real estate agency… and are increasingly good at making us believe in the deception. Fake emails or SMS, but also fake websites, are more realistic and credible than ever. And this, in particular because of the rise of artificial intelligence.
Yes, cybercriminals have understood this well: AI is a particularly practical tool, capable of (almost) perfectly reproducing official documents or messages intended to deceive consumers. So unsurprisingly, its use is spreading. Moreover, more than half of French people say they are more concerned about scams linked to AI than last year, according to a McAfee study. But fortunately, the world leader in online protection provides valuable advice on how to no longer be trapped by online scams.
In addition to not clicking on links that appear suspicious, or always going through known and secure sites, McAfee recommends a new method that has proven itself: fighting fire with fire, or more precisely, “use AI to defeat AI”. Indeed, there are tools powered by artificial intelligence that can detect a phishing attempt even before you can click on a fraudulent link. For example, Text Scam Detectors: “It automatically scans links received via SMS and can prevent access to a potentially harmful site, whether the link comes from a message, email or social media post”McAfee tells us.
The operation is simple, but this is where AI proves particularly useful: it “examines the structure of each analyzed link (URL)”both in the way it is constructed, but also the patterns it reproduces. And since artificial intelligence can analyze millions of links, it knows how to recognize the markers of a scam, including the most recent ones. “Even if a malicious site has just been created, AI can recognize characteristic patterns and block access before the user is exposed”explains the famous antivirus software publisher. These applications and navigation extensions are available both on smartphones and computers: while some are paid, others are 100% free.
Artificial intelligence is therefore both the problem and the solution: as the adage goes, we cure evil with evil. This new method recommended by online security experts seems to mark a turning point in the fight against phishing, by strengthening the protection of Internet users even before the first interaction with a fraudulent link.
