Sign up to save tools and stay up to date with the latest in AI
bg
bg
1

Winnipeg man caught in scam after AI told him fake Facebook customer support number was legitimate | CBC News

May 31, 2024 - cbc.ca
A Winnipeg man, Dave Gaudreau, was scammed out of hundreds of dollars after calling a number he believed was for Facebook customer support. Gaudreau's wife found the number online when they encountered problems transferring his Facebook account to a new phone. Before calling, Gaudreau checked the number's legitimacy using Facebook Messenger's "Meta AI" tool, which confirmed it as a legitimate support number. However, during the call, the scammer accessed his Facebook and PayPal accounts, purchasing a $500 Apple gift card and attempting to buy bitcoin.

Gaudreau has since filed fraud complaints with PayPal, Visa, the police, and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. He also lodged a complaint with Meta, Facebook's parent company, but has not received a response. The incident has raised concerns about the reliability of AI tools, with Prof. David Gerhard of the University of Manitoba warning that AI models do not understand truth and should not be trusted to verify facts.

Key takeaways:

  • A Winnipeg man, Dave Gaudreau, was scammed out of hundreds of dollars when he called what he thought was a Facebook customer support hotline.
  • Gaudreau was led to believe the scam number was legitimate by Meta's AI tool, which confirmed the number as a valid Facebook support line.
  • During the scam call, Gaudreau's PayPal account was accessed and used to buy a $500 Apple gift card, and an attempt was made to purchase bitcoin.
  • Prof. David Gerhard, head of computer science at the University of Manitoba, warns against trusting AI tools for fact verification, as they do not understand what truth is and can make mistakes.
View Full Article

Comments (0)

Be the first to comment!