Digital fraud is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country, and the boom of AI is only adding to the problem. Last year, digital scamming networks cost Americans more than $20 billion.
When Patrick Coughlin’s mom became the target of an emotional and urgent scam, aiming at getting her to hand over money, he was alarmed at just how advanced these ploys had become.
“In 2023, my mom got a call that appeared to be coming from my sister,” said Coughlin. “She answered the call. She hears what she thinks is my sister's voice, a blood curdling scream, a cry for help. And then a man comes on the line and says, ‘We've got your daughter.’”
The caller threatened to kill Coughlin’s sister if his mother didn’t give them $1,200. Coughlin's mother nearly paid the ransom, but texted her daughter’s husband to check on her. Her daughter was at home, safe.
Coughlin said he was shocked the scammer was able to make the call appear to be coming from his sister’s number and mimic her voice.
“That's how sophisticated and personalized this has become,” he said. “What it did for me is it sort of activated some latent, intelligence and security analyst skills that I've had earlier on in my career. I went down the rabbit hole of looking at how these attacks work.”
The incident pushed Coughlin, a veteran cybersecurity expert, and his brother, Ryan Coughlin, to co-founded Savi Security, a company whose mission is to empower people to safely navigate our digital world.
Their first product, Scamwise, is a free to access website that allows users to upload screenshots of emails and texts, or even photos of physical mail, to get help identifying their validity.
“We get pictures of medical bills that seem like, ‘Oh do you don't really remember if you paid the copay,’” said Coughlin. “Scammers love to piggyback on medical bills. Medicare customers are a huge target. They really try to prey on those moments of fear and urgency.”
Scamwise shares data on suspected scams with the FTC and the FBI. Coughlin hopes the sharing can help the federal government understand how big of a problem digital fraud is.
“Unfortunately, scams and digital fraud are some of the most underreported crimes in the world because people are embarrassed,” he said. “They're ashamed but they shouldn't bother with being so embarrassed. The reality is these scammers are very good at their jobs.”
Coughlin is also the author of the upcoming book, “The Dark Side of the Boom: How Scammers Highjacked the AI Revolution,” which releases on June 16. The book covers the tsunami of new, much more complex online scams that AI has brought on.
“If you're a scammer, these AI tools are like the sword in the stone,” said Coughlin. “It's like the all powerful tool that you've been dreaming of that helps you impersonate an elected official, a celebrity, a local police officer, a local pastor, or a loved one… right? And you can do it anywhere, all at once.”
- Patrick Coughlin, cofounder of Savi Security, author of “The Dark Side of the Boom: How Scammers Highjacked the AI Revolution”
