(BPT) - Although artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are groundbreaking technologies providing benefits to companies and consumers, they've also ushered in a new era of sophisticated tools that facilitate fraud. As businesses fight to keep up, they're learning it's often necessary to use those same AI and ML capabilities to defend against fraudsters.

The perceived risks from AI have increased fear and mistrust for the public, who rely on companies to safeguard them from fraud. In the 2024 Trust Index released by Telesign, nearly all Americans (87%) said they believe the companies they engage with are responsible for protecting their digital privacy, highlighting how vital digital trust is in today's business environment. It also means that people are vulnerable if companies they engage with online don't provide effective digital fraud protection.

AI and mistrust

With deepfakes, voice clones and increased language capabilities at their fingertips, today's fraudsters can more easily fool many systems and customers. Telesign's Trust Index revealed many Americans have strong concerns about the use of AI for a variety of purposes, from commercial fraud to election misinformation.

While consumers appreciate the idea of using AI for good, such as fighting misinformation, there's a gap in their understanding of how online services they use daily employ this technology to protect them from fraud. In the Trust Index, 44% of respondents said they think AI and ML make no difference in their susceptibility to digital fraud, with only 34% being more likely to trust a company that uses AI/ML to protect them from fraud attacks.

In reality, Forbes Advisor reports that 51% of businesses use AI to help with cybersecurity and fraud management. In the near future, every business may need to fight AI with AI.

Here's how criminals have been upping their fraud game using AI:

Phishing and social engineering

Gone are the obvious grammar errors of pre-AI phishing. Generative AI helps fraudsters easily correct mistakes, resulting in more convincing, harder-to-spot phishing attempts - which they can use to steal credentials, hijack accounts, infiltrate companies and lift customer data. Data from the year following ChatGPT's launch showed a 1,265% increase in malicious phishing messages and a 967% increase in credential phishing.

It's crucial for businesses to use advanced AI technology to detect signs of phishing and stop them in their tracks.

Fake accounts

The proliferation of fake accounts poses a significant threat to companies operating online. Individuals infiltrate online communities by creating fake accounts, wreaking havoc among legitimate users and tarnishing brand reputations.

A growing challenge closely associated with fake accounts is the emergence of deepfakes and voice clones. While technology firms are making strides in identifying, labeling and removing AI-generated images and videos from the digital landscape, not enough attention is paid to how the content is distributed - primarily via fake accounts and social media.

Businesses can help stop the spread of fake accounts by improving their identity verification processes to raise the bar in proving that all users are real.

How businesses can verify digital identities

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is an effective method companies need to use to its fullest to help protect and verify customer identities. To ensure MFA is employed correctly and consistently, training employees throughout entire enterprises about social engineering and phishing risks is crucial.

One way to ensure companies activate all the latest technologies to safeguard themselves and their customers is by partnering with digital identity leader Telesign, which provides Continuous Trust™ to global enterprises by connecting, protecting and defending their digital identities. The company's powerful machine learning and extensive data science deliver identity risk recommendations to provide fraud protection, secure communications and enable the digital economy by helping companies and customers engage with confidence.

Telesign's new Verify API is a simple, powerful tool for secure authentication to safeguard financial transactions, verify unknown users and prevent fraudulent activity. As traditional reliance on SMS for multi-factor authentication is becoming a vulnerability, Verify API provides a versatile authentication platform enabling businesses to seamlessly verify user identities across 7 channels: Silent Verify, Push Verify, SMS, WhatsApp, Viber, RCS and email. With a single integration, Verify API helps businesses effortlessly scale new authentication channels.

Multichannel authentication capability allows businesses to choose channels that work best for their customers, improving the customer experience and broadening their ability to authenticate customers globally - with fallback capabilities in case one preferred channel is unresponsive.

Best yet, Verify API facilitates fraud protection across the customer journey, safeguarding customer accounts by authenticating every interaction and defending against suspicious behavior. With verified sender IDs (across WhatsApp, RCS and Viber), businesses can work to prevent social engineering and phishing attacks at scale, delivering more protection and enhancing user experience - offering a win-win for businesses and their customers.

Download the full 2024 Trust Index or visit Telesign.com to learn more about solutions to protect consumers from digital fraud.