Good morning! AI keeps showing up in places you might not expect — including, it turns out, scam calls from people pretending to be your boss.
In today's issue: a $129 million fraud scheme that used AI to fake executives' voices and faces, what to ask if your doctor uses AI to take notes during your visit, and a free AI tool that can rebook a cancelled Delta flight for you over the holidays.
Let's get started.
NEWS
Scammers Used AI to Sound and Look Like CEOs — and Walked Away With $129 Million
Federal prosecutors in New York announced this week that they've charged three men with running a scheme that used AI to copy the voices — and even the on-screen appearance — of real company executives.
Here's how it allegedly worked: the scammers would call or video-call an employee at a company, sounding and looking exactly like someone the employee already knew and trusted, such as a CEO. That “boss” would explain there was a sensitive, time-sensitive deal underway, then loop in a “lawyer” (also fake) who'd instruct the employee to wire money to an account the group controlled. Prosecutors say the scheme pulled in $129 million this way, including $11.6 million from a UK financial company and $4.8 million from a Missouri hospital system.
The three men were arrested in Spain and the United Kingdom, and the U.S. is seeking to bring them to trial.
This isn't only a workplace problem. The same trick works on a call from someone claiming to be a relative, a bank employee, or a government official. Hearing — or even seeing — a familiar face or voice on a call used to be reassurance enough. It no longer is.
Takeaway: If anyone — even someone who sounds or looks exactly like your boss, a lawyer, a bank, or a family member — asks you to send money quickly and not tell anyone, hang up and call them back using a number you already have, not one they just gave you.
STAYING SAFE
Your Doctor Might Be Using AI to Take Notes During Your Visit — Here's What You Can Ask
If a doctor or nurse mentioned a recording app, or you noticed a phone propped up during your last checkup, you may have met an “AI scribe.” These are tools that listen during your appointment, pick out the medically relevant parts, and turn them into the written note that goes in your chart — the note your doctor used to type out by hand, often after hours, on their own time.
Doctors usually ask for your okay before turning one on, since it needs to record the conversation. The tool organizes what it hears into sections like your symptoms, the exam findings, and the plan going forward, and your doctor is supposed to review it before it's saved to your record.
These tools can occasionally get details wrong, such as writing down a follow-up or referral that was never actually discussed. So it's worth knowing you can ask a few simple questions: whether an AI tool is being used, whether you can decline it, and whether you can see the finished note afterward (many patient portals let you read your own visit notes). If anything in that note looks off, you can ask the office to correct it.
Takeaway: You're allowed to ask whether your doctor is using an AI note-taking tool, decline it if you'd rather they didn't, and read the note afterward to make sure it's accurate.
TRY THIS
Flying Over the Holidays? Delta's Free AI Helper Can Rebook or Refund a Trip for You
If you're flying Delta this travel season, there's a free AI tool built right into the Fly Delta app that can save you a long hold with customer service. It's called Delta Concierge.
Once you're logged into the app with your SkyMiles membership (joining SkyMiles costs nothing), tap the Concierge icon near the top of the home screen and just type or ask your question in plain English — things like “What's my seat assignment?” or “My flight got cancelled, can you rebook me?” It can look up your reservation, check a flight's status, track a checked bag, and even cancel or rebook a trip and process a refund or travel credit, without you needing to wait on the phone or hunt through menus.
It won't replace a real person for a complicated situation, but for simple questions — especially during the busy, delay-prone holiday season — it can save real time.
Takeaway: If you fly Delta, update the Fly Delta app and look for the Concierge icon — it's a free way to get quick answers or rebook a cancelled flight without waiting on hold.
Until tomorrow,
EZ AI