Over the past year or two I’ve noticed that both of my parents have been listening to AI-generated stories online as a form of entertainment. My mom was on YouTube watching a story about a lonely billionaire who reconnected with a long-lost girlfriend and rescued her and her child from poverty. And my dad was listening to the tale about Michael Jordan going back to his old high school and paying off the janitor’s mortgage.

“Those stories are AI-generated and aren’t real,” I told them. They shrugged off my warning. After all why shouldn’t they enjoy an engaging story, even if it was fiction presented as fact.

I worry about my parents being scammed by AI as I repeatedly read articles about older adults falling prey to AI-fueled deception and sophisticated frauds that rob them of savings.

Here are three measures I established with my parents to help them avoid AI-generated and online scams.

1. Create personal passwords. My father and I have a personal password. If he receives a phone or video call that looks or sounds like me saying I’ve had an accident or I’m in jail and he needs to send money, he knows to ask for the personal password we agreed on together. Without it, fake me can rot in that imaginary jail cell forever.

2. Don’t trust anything you see or hear online until you verify the source. My mom likes to share national “news” stories she’s heard online and occasionally the information sounds completely fabricated. What’s the source, mom? Let’s fact check that (she’s gotten used to verifying accuracy with Perplexity.ai now) before we share that “news” with anyone.

3. Don’t click links or answer calls from people you don’t know. This is a basic safety measure not just for AI-perpetuated fraud but all scams. My mom knows to never click links from companies. Instead she goes to the company itself or its app and uses that to call the company. My father turned on the setting that sends any number not in his contacts straight to voicemail. Most iPhones and Android have this feature.

None of this requires being tech-savvy. It takes one phone call to your mom or an older adult you care about. Make it this week.

How are you protecting your family from AI scams? I’d love to hear the tips that work for you.

P.S. Though I’ve told my mom not to pick up unrecognized callers, sometimes the prankster in her wins out. She lets the scammer give the whole spiel about being her grandchild locked up in jail. Then she scolds him: “You’re behaving badly. You should stay in jail until you change your ways.” Then she hangs up.

#ArtificialIntelligence #FraudPrevention #Caregiving #OnlineSafety

Read more of my blog posts about artificial intelligence.