{"id":620,"date":"2025-06-06T10:00:28","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T14:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/?p=620"},"modified":"2025-06-04T16:56:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T20:56:32","slug":"ai-scams-smart-use-on-campus-what-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/2025\/06\/06\/ai-scams-smart-use-on-campus-what-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Scams &amp; Smart Use on Campus: What You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">AI is changing the game on campus\u2014helping us study smarter, but also giving scammers new tricks. With tools that can clone voices, fake texts, and even create deepfake videos, it\u2019s getting harder to know what\u2019s real. The good news? You don\u2019t need to be a tech expert to stay safe. Just learn a few red flags, set a \u201csafe-word\u201d with your crew, and use AI tools the right way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Scammers now use AI to:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Clone voices<\/strong>(they only need a few seconds of audio)<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Fake texts &amp; emails<\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Make deepfake videos that look real<\/strong><br \/>\n<b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">They might pretend to be your roommate, professor, or parent asking for money or info.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Set a Safe-Word<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A \u201csafe-word\u201d is a secret code only you and trusted people know.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Use it to check if a message or call is legit.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>How to set it up:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pick something random (not on your social).<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Share it in person or on a secure app (like Signal).<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Change it each semester.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Use it with family, friends, clubs, or study groups.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Text from \u201cyour roommate\u201d: \u201cHelp! Locked out, need $200.\u201d<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2705 You reply: \u201cWhat\u2019s our code?\u201d<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \ud83d\udeab If they can\u2019t answer \u2192 It\u2019s a scam.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Watch for Red Flags<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"responsive-image-holder wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"mlt-responsive-image\" data-original-image=\"\/phish-files\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/290\/2025\/06\/AI-Table.png\" src=\"\/responsive-media\/cache\/phish-files\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/290\/2025\/06\/AI-Table.png.0.1x.generic.jpg\" alt=\"Table of AI Red Flags\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>If it feels off, pause &amp; verify<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Report it via the PAB or by forwarding it to <\/span><strong><a href=\"mailto:phishfiles@montclair.edu\">phishfiles@montclair.edu<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Use AI the Right Way<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">AI tools like ChatGPT are powerful\u2014but there are rules:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>DO:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Say if you used AI in a paper or project.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Double-check AI output for bias or errors.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Protect private info (don\u2019t paste grades, ID numbers, or personal data into AI tools).<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Use it to brainstorm\u2014not to cheat.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>DON\u2019T:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Turn in AI-written work as your own.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Use AI to fake messages or impersonate someone.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Overuse it just to rewrite the same thing 10 times\u2014it uses real energy.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Quick Checklist<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2705 Set up a safe-word<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2705 Don\u2019t trust calls or texts without verification<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2705 Use AI honestly &amp; safely<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2705 Report sketchy stuff to IT (it-help@univ.edu or ext. 1234)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2705 Stay in the loop\u2014follow your campus IT on social<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Final Thought<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">AI can help you study, create, and work smarter\u2014<\/span><strong>if<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> you use it wisely.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Stay sharp, stay ethical, and don\u2019t let the bots outsmart you.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Want To Know More?<\/h2>\n<p>Government Technology | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.govtech.com\/education\/k-12\/anatomy-of-a-phishing-attack-how-ai-helps-cyber-criminals-rob-schools\">Anatomy of a Phishing Attack: How AI Helps Cyber Criminals Rob Schools appropriate<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Harvard Business Review | <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2024\/05\/ai-will-increase-the-quantity-and-quality-of-phishing-scams\">AI Will Increase the Quantity \u2014 and Quality \u2014 of Phishing Scams<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Forbes | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/councils\/forbestechcouncil\/2023\/01\/20\/how-higher-education-became-the-target-of-bots-fake-accounts-and-online-fraud\/\">How Higher Education Became The Target Of Bots, Fake Accounts And Online Fraud<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AI is changing the game on campus\u2014helping us study smarter, but also giving scammers new tricks. With tools that can clone voices, fake texts, and even create deepfake videos, it\u2019s getting harder to know what\u2019s real. The good news? You don\u2019t need to be a tech expert to stay safe. Just learn a few red [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":349,"featured_media":624,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/349"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":627,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620\/revisions\/627"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/phish-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}