….They can “show” you even having sex with children! And fake a loved one calling you to say “I have been kidnapped! Give my kidnappers the ransom they want!”
FBI Warns of Sextortion Scams Using ‘Deepfakes‘
JdN: Finally, the FBI doing its proper and good work, and not framing presidents and others
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The agency issued the warning in a public service announcement on June 6, drawing attention to how malicious actors take advantage of image and video editing tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to create deepfakes, which are fake media created from otherwise benign content.
*** Weird deepfake (actually of relatively cheap quality and meant as a joke, not to be really convincing) shows a girly Stalin and a smitten Hitler as gay lovers…. Overtly low-tech, it is amusing in a pervy way, but it does shows what can be thrown together — or made much more “convincing” with plenty of time
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Such a great relationship; too bad it didn’t last 😉
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“The FBI continues to receive reports from victims, including minor children and non-consenting adults, whose photos or videos were altered into explicit content,” the agency said in the alert. “The photos or videos are then publicly circulated on social media or pornographic websites, for the purpose of harassing victims or sextortion schemes.”
Typically, malicious actors have two different demands, according to the FBI. They either want victims to provide money or gift cards in exchange for not sharing the fake images or photos with their family members or social media friends, or they demand that victims provide real sexually-themed images or videos of themselves.
*** This happened to a female supporter of mine!
“Show us your t–s — or else”
It was some vile, malicious teenagers, and I advised her to call the police on them, which she did; problem solved.
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As a result, the FBI urges the public to “exercise caution” when posting photos and videos of themselves online, including social media and dating apps.
“Although seemingly innocuous when posted or shared, the images and videos can provide malicious actors an abundant supply of content to exploit for criminal activity,” the agency said.
“Advancements in content creation technology and accessible personal images online present new opportunities for malicious actors to find and target victims,” the agency added. “This leaves them vulnerable to embarrassment, harassment, extortion, financial loss, or continued long-term re-victimization.”
The FBI shared a list of recommendations, including asking parents to monitor their children’s online activities and run frequent online searches of their children’s information to know what is publicly available.
“Consider using reverse image search engines to locate any photos or videos that have circulated on the internet without your knowledge,” a recommendation says.
Other recommendations include implementing privacy settings on social media accounts, and exercising caution when accepting friend requests and engaging in video chats.
Warnings
In recent years, U.S. authorities have been issuing warnings about deepfake technology.
In June 2022, the FBI issued a warning about the increasing number of complaints reporting the use of deepfake videos during interviews for remote job positions to gain access to sensitive data.
“The remote work or work-from-home positions identified in these reports include information technology and computer programming, database, and software-related job functions. Notably, some reported positions include access to customer PII [personally identifiable information], financial data, corporate IT databases and/or proprietary information,” the agency said in an announcement.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a consumer alert in March, alerting the public that criminals have been using deepfake audios to trick victims into believing their loved ones have been kidnapped.
“A scammer could use AI to clone the voice of your loved one. All he needs is a short audio clip of your family member’s voice—which he could get from content posted online—and a voice-cloning program,” the commission wrote. “When the scammer calls you, he’ll sound just like your loved one.”
In such a situation, the FTC asks people to hang up, particularly if the caller wants to be paid via wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or a gift card.
“Don’t trust the voice. Call the person who supposedly contacted you and verify the story. Use a phone number you know is theirs. If you can’t reach your loved one, try to get in touch with them through another family member or their friends,” the commission said.
READ MORE
Legislation
In May, U.S. Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill to make sharing sexualized non-consensual deepfakes illegal.
The legislation, known as the “Preventing Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act” (H.R.3106), would ban the non-consensual disclosure of digitally altered intimate images and make sharing these images a criminal offense.
“The spread of A.I.-generated and altered images can cause irrevocable emotional, financial, and reputational harm—and unfortunately, women are disproportionately impacted,” Morelle said in a statement accompanying the bill’s introduction.
“As artificial intelligence continues to evolve and permeate our society, it’s critical that we take proactive steps to combat the spread of disinformation and protect individuals from compromising situations online,” he added. “I’m proud to have introduced this legislation that takes common-sense steps to protect their privacy, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass it into law.”
Francis Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA, applauded the legislation.
“This bill will help curb an incredibly destructive practice that strikes at the heart of personal privacy, safety and autonomy. Sexual abuse, whether occurring physically or digitally, should never be excused or permitted as ‘personal expression,’ and it should never be tolerated,” he said in a statement.
Drescher added: “Deepfakes are violations, objectification and exploitation, and must be made illegal and punishable by law. This bill is a powerful step to ensure that this technology is not used to cause harm.”
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…….Spiritual reading for June 10
Another strategy for a dust-storm day: while yesterday we suggested that you ride above the prevailing energies, today we advise you to try a low profile. You can go about your business if you don’t attract too much attention or make too much of a splash.
If you encounter a roadblock, go around it. Don’t take things head on.
Keep your own emotions in check to the extent that you can. There will be no benefit from any kind of extreme or pronounced expressions of how you are feeling. It is fine to feel frustrated—you may just feel that way. But do not take it out on anyone else, and do not let yourself get lost in it.
Keep things in perspective and don’t freak out. Keep breathing—very, very important!
JdN: Not just breathing smoothly when stressful things happen, but also focus on and listen to your breathing, which will stop the flow of pointless, agitated thoughts!
And also keep on opening your heart. It never hurts and during a time when things are tough in the outside world it is even more helpful. Harder, of course, but therefore all the more necessary.
Do what needs to be done and don’t take on extra. Your priority needs to be getting through the day without creating more karma. Don’t stress yourself out as it is likely that stress will be passed on and then, as it will, return to you today, tomorrow or in another lifetime.
Just stay calm!
A-hah! We know what difficult-to-follow advice that can be. Here are our thoughts, which we hope will help just a little: drink lots of water, attend to the birds, watch the sky, listen to your favorite heart-opening music, steer clear of people who make you nuts and take the time to cool of at least once during the day.
Rocks and stones can help—if they do for you, make use of them. Escape if you need to—books, movies, etc., have their place and if they help you avoid a meltdown, don’t hesitate.
If you are prepared and ready you are more likely to have a good day. Or at least, it may seem that way.
Above all, remember that it is just a day and the challenges you encounter will be of no significance whatsoever if you let them flow right on over you. Don’t engage, don’t scream and shout and it will all pass. Things will improve. We promise.
We send lots of love, patience and all our blessings.
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The State can access your devices and plant child porn, hate speech, death threats, and terrorist materials on your lap top all theyx want without your knowledge.
This ability has been available to the State for 15 years, to my knowledge.
They can access your device whilst you’re on it and you wouldn’t know it.
They created and they control the Internet, so there are no places to hide on the Net. Nothing is 100% encrypted.
If they couldn’t control it, you wouldn’t be able to use it. Friends who used to work at GCHQ Cheltenham [JdN: the British version of the NSA, located outside London] told me, top secret things must be written down by hand and posted or delivered by hand, personally, to the recipient so it could not be read electronically.