And he thought entrepreneur Elon Musk could help.
Mr Beauchamp, an 82-year-old retiree, saw a video in late 2023 of Mr Musk endorsing a radical investment opportunity that promised rapid returns.
He contacted the firm behind the pitch and opened an account for US$248 (S$324). Through a series of transactions over several weeks, Mr Beauchamp drained his retirement account, ultimately investing more than US$690,000. Then the money vanished - lost to digital scammers on the forefront of a new criminal enterprise powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
The scammers had edited a genuine interview with Mr Musk, replacing his voice with a replica using AI tools. The AI was sophisticated enough that it could alter minute mouth movements match the new script they had written for the digital fake. To a casual viewer, the manipulation might have been imperceptible to "I mean, the picture of him - it was him," Mr Beauchamp said about the video he saw of Mr Musk.
"Now, whether it was AI making him say the things that he was saying, I really don't know. But as far as the picture, if somebody had said, 'Pick him out of a line-up,' that's him." Thousands of these Al-driven videos, known as deepfakes, have flooded the internet in recent months, featuring phony versions of Mr Musk deceiving scores of would-be investors. Al-powered deepfakes are expected to contribute to billions of dollars in fraud losses each year, according to estimates from Deloitte.
The videos cost just a few dollars to produce and can be made in minutes. They are promoted on social media, including in paid ads on Facebook, magnifying their reach.
"It's probably the biggest deepfake-driven scam ever," said Mr Francesco Cavalli, the co-founder and chief of threat intelligence at Sensity, a company that monitors and detects deepfakes.
The videos are often eerily lifelike, capturing Mr Musk's iconic stilted cadence and South African accent.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 08, 2024 من The Straits Times.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 08, 2024 من The Straits Times.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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