Information gathering through AI
Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2025 8:59 am
A wealth of information about your business (and your employees) is available on social media. While this isn't a breakthrough, what is new is the ability to gather information from multiple sources and use it to train an artificial intelligence tool to produce content.
The result: scammers can easily create misleading but… ultra-convincing posts and direct messages.
20% of Gen Xers say they struggle to distinguish between fact and fiction when it comes to AI-generated content on social media . For younger generations, things aren't much better: 15% of Millennials and 14% of Gen cambodia phone number data Zers share this sentiment.
Chart showing the results of a questionnaire related to AI-generated content
Source :Hootsuite Social Media Trends Survey 2024
Fraudsters can also use information gathered from social media to train an AI-powered tool. They are then well-equipped to contact your employees through other means. Scammers also leverage social media and AI-powered search tools to confirm the "validity" of certain (fake) information.
A Canadian was recently scammed this way. After chatting online with Meta AI, which confirmed that the phone number he found online was legitimate (it wasn't), the user didn't hesitate to provide his payment information to... a fake Facebook customer service!
Hacking and Malware Attacks
The recent hack of the US Security and Exchange Commission 's personal X (formerly Twitter) account was one of the most embarrassing incidents in social media security.
Hackers who gain access to your social media accounts can significantly damage your brand's reputation.
Ad account (and associated payment method) hacks pose a new threat to business social media accounts . Scammers run fake ads that appear to come from a legitimate source (i.e., your brand) but actually redirect users to malware or online scams.
Graph of threat types targeting Meta business accounts
Source :W/Labs
Vulnerable third-party applications
Locking down your own social media accounts as much as possible is a great idea. However, hackers can still take advantage of vulnerabilities in third-party apps used by users. .
Instagram specifically warns its users against third-party apps claiming to provide likes or followers:
"If you give these apps your login information […], they will have full access to your account. They will be able to see your personal messages, collect information about your friends, and potentially post unwanted or harmful content on your profile. Your safety and that of your friends would be at risk."
The result: scammers can easily create misleading but… ultra-convincing posts and direct messages.
20% of Gen Xers say they struggle to distinguish between fact and fiction when it comes to AI-generated content on social media . For younger generations, things aren't much better: 15% of Millennials and 14% of Gen cambodia phone number data Zers share this sentiment.
Chart showing the results of a questionnaire related to AI-generated content
Source :Hootsuite Social Media Trends Survey 2024
Fraudsters can also use information gathered from social media to train an AI-powered tool. They are then well-equipped to contact your employees through other means. Scammers also leverage social media and AI-powered search tools to confirm the "validity" of certain (fake) information.
A Canadian was recently scammed this way. After chatting online with Meta AI, which confirmed that the phone number he found online was legitimate (it wasn't), the user didn't hesitate to provide his payment information to... a fake Facebook customer service!
Hacking and Malware Attacks
The recent hack of the US Security and Exchange Commission 's personal X (formerly Twitter) account was one of the most embarrassing incidents in social media security.
Hackers who gain access to your social media accounts can significantly damage your brand's reputation.
Ad account (and associated payment method) hacks pose a new threat to business social media accounts . Scammers run fake ads that appear to come from a legitimate source (i.e., your brand) but actually redirect users to malware or online scams.
Graph of threat types targeting Meta business accounts
Source :W/Labs
Vulnerable third-party applications
Locking down your own social media accounts as much as possible is a great idea. However, hackers can still take advantage of vulnerabilities in third-party apps used by users. .
Instagram specifically warns its users against third-party apps claiming to provide likes or followers:
"If you give these apps your login information […], they will have full access to your account. They will be able to see your personal messages, collect information about your friends, and potentially post unwanted or harmful content on your profile. Your safety and that of your friends would be at risk."