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JANE ATKINSON
I gave my number to a Gambian conman – his five years of harassment taught me sinister truth about the Brad Pitt scam
Imagine what the scammers will do to you and me when they really up their game thanks to AI
ARTIFICIAL Intelligence has been described as the greatest invention of all time.
Last week Sir Keir Starmer said he was determined to make sure Britain will be a world leader in AI, which will be rolled out across the UK.
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Which I applaud.
But at the same time we learnt that a French woman, identified only as Anne, had been duped by AI-generated images into believing she was in a “relationship” with Brad Pitt.
Anne was so convinced by this trickery that she handed over £700,000 to the crooks who were behind it.
She is now so severely depressed she has been checked into a clinic.
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I am not surprised. I would be too. Because the fake pictures supposedly of Brad in hospital having kidney cancer treatment aren’t even realistic.
Yet they managed to convince a woman with that much money that one of the hottest stars on the planet was in love with her.
So imagine what the scammers will do to you and me when they really up their game thanks to AI.
Years ago I went on a holiday to The Gambia and foolishly gave my number to our friendly tour guide, who then turned conman.
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He spent the next five years bombarding me with messages saying his nephew was dying and he needed £100 wired via Western Union — immediately.
A tiny bit of me felt sorry for him. A big part of me knew he was an idiot and ignored him.
Woman duped into sending ‘Brad Pitt’ £700k after falling for ridiculous AI scam pics of star getting ‘cancer treatment’
But now people just like him will be using every trick in the AI book at their disposal.
Not just faking pictures and videos but even mimicking the voices of people you know.
Poor Anne was easy prey; vulnerable, going through a divorce and recovering from cancer herself.
She was blindsided by the trickery. Tragically she’s tried to take her own life because of it.
But the 53-year-old has still spoken out to warn others.
And she is being ridiculed all over the internet for doing so.
But, however ludicrous the ruse, I think we should thank this woman for speaking out, not mock her.
Her story is a warning to us all to keep our wits about us as AI comes into our everyday lives.
Because anybody can be scammed.
AI-powered videos of Elon Musk have led to people draining their bank accounts and pension funds to invest in a dodgy deal.
Deep-fake porn
An AI-manipulated audio clip of a school principal making racist remarks resulted in him being investigated, while bitter couples have used fake audio in custody battles.
Taylor Swift has been a victim, with deep-fake porn images of her rapidly circulating online a year ago.
There have even been deep-fake videos of Prince William and Keir Starmer that led people to make dodgy cryptocurrency investments.
So as the PM welcomes the new plan, he must also make sure there are laws to protect us; regulation to try to keep us safe.
Because none of us is untouchable.
If the “real” Jason Statham came on to my Instagram telling me he had dumped supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and thought I was the woman for him, I may struggle to keep my wits about me too.
I haven’t got much cash but I would happily give him one of my kidneys!
Being totally protected from AI is going to be tricky for us all.
So, before you laugh about Anne, make sure you know whose pockets you’re filling with your own money.
AB FAB TIP ON CREAM
JOANNA LUMLEY is one of my favourite influencers.
She may not pump it out on Instagram but when a 78-year-old woman tells you how she looks so amazing you sit up and take notice.
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And the Ab Fab actress has just revealed the face cream she uses.
If you’ve missed it, she uses Astral. Less than £5 on Amazon. You’re welcome.
RYANAIR boss Michael O’Leary has renewed his call for a limit of two alcoholic drinks per passenger at airport bars.
He says it will make travel safer for passengers and crew, which makes sense, and he’d be happy to introduce the booze limit “tomorrow”.
But maybe if the company also got its flights out on time, we wouldn’t all have another 20 minutes to wait in the bar.
Just a thought.
KEEP IT REAL
WOW! What a life James Clarkson is now going to have.
The 20-year-old from Carlisle has just won £7.5million on the Lottery.
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He seems to have his head screwed on and plans to finish his training as a gas engineer and not just spend, spend, spend!
I truly hope he has decent support and advice around him, so he doesn’t go the same way as so many winners before him, who went off the rails and ended up with zero cash in the bank.
Good luck to him. I am utterly green with envy.
GAP IS A PAIN, ALISON
SEEING the pictures of Alison Hammond reaching up to snog the face off her boyfriend David Putman made me want to tell her to “mind the gap”.
Nothing to do with the age gap – although Alison is about to turn 50 and he is 27 – but because of the height gap.
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Leggy Alison may be 5ft 10in but still looked as if she was about to put her back out as she struggled to get her arms up and around her partner’s neck.
Thankfully, he is 22 years younger, a foot taller and works as a masseur so could sort her out if she did do herself an injury.
AFTER the murder of her 16-year-old son Jimmy she could have just crumbled, but Margaret Mizen turned the most horrendous thing ever to happen to her into a positive.
She was awarded an MBE in 2013 for promoting peace and when The Sun revealed her child’s killer Jake Fahri was now a balaclava-clad rapper glorifying death, she simply said she was “saddened”.
Thankfully Fahri is now back in jail for breaching his licence.
Margaret said her family would “always spread the same message, of forgiveness, peace and hope”.
What an amazing woman.
DIM ’N’ CRISPY
A PIZZERIA in Norwich has slapped a £100 “fine” on pineapple to deter customers from choosing it.
Lupa Pizza’s co-owner Francis Woolf, who clearly loves a PR stunt, said: “I absolutely loathe pineapple on a pizza.”
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And I absolutely loathe people who turn their noses up at what others want to eat.
Let’s thank God for Domino’s.
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