OpenAI tool used to create voice bot that can drain crypto wallets
Researchers in the US have reportedly used OpenAI’s voice API to create AI-powered phone scam agents that could be used to drain victims’ crypto wallets and bank accounts. As reported by The Register, computer scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) used OpenAI’s GPT-4o model, in tandem with a number of other freely available tools, to build the agent they say “can indeed autonomously execute the actions necessary for various phone-based scams.” According to UIUC assistant professor Daniel Kang, phone scams that involve perpetrators pretending to be from a business or government organization target around 18 million Americans every year and cost somewhere in the region of $40 billion. GPT-4o allows users to send it text or audio and have it respond in kind. What’s more, according to Kang, it’s not costly to do , which breaks down a major a barrier to entry for scammers looking to steal personal information such as bank details or social security nu