Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is warning seniors of artificial intelligence (AI) scams and cyber-attacks ahead of this year’s holiday season.
Blackburn, a ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, discussed the increased threats of AI scams and cyber-attacks during a hearing last month titled “Protecting Consumers from Artificial Intelligence Enabled Fraud and Scams.”
In 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that consumers reported losing more than $10 billion throughout the year, a 14 percent increase over the reported losses in 2022.
The FTC said the top frauds reported in 2023 were imposters, online shopping, negative reviews, prizes, sweepstakes, lotteries, investments, and Business and job opportunities.
Last month’s subcommittee hearing focused on how AI has “enabled harmful consumer fraud and scams, how technologies like AI labeling, detection and disclosures can protect consumers, and how to empower consumers to recognize and avoid AI-enabled fraud and scams.”
During the hearing, Blackburn pointed to the FTC’s troubling report of fraud in 2023, explaining how the tools used by scammers are “becoming more prevalent, they’re becoming more precise, more widespread, and harder to attack.”
Noting how AI is “driving a lot of” the fraud, Blackburn called on Congress to pass an “online privacy standard” that will “enhance the privacy, and help to protect our citizens in the virtual space.”
“In Tennessee, I say we’ve got the good, bad, and ugly relationship with AI. A lot of our manufacturers, people that are working in healthcare, predictive diagnoses, disease analysis, logistics, they are utilizing AI every day, to achieve efficiencies… The ugly is really what is happening to people with these scams, and with these frauds, and especially when it comes to senior citizens,” Blackburn said.
“Older Americans are the ones who have been hit most frequently with this, as an emerging threat,” Blackburn added.
Earlier this year and in October 2023, Blackburn introduced the Content Origin Protection and Integrity from Edited and Deepfaked Media (COPIED) Act and the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act to “combat the negative harms caused by AI and hold violators accountable for abuses.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
