Page 3 - QT CURRENT EDITION #36

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2024 THE QUEENS TIMES PAGE 3

INVESTOR ALERT: Attorney General James Congressman Tom Suozzi Meets With

Warns New Yorkers of Investment Scams Using South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol
AI-Manipulated Videos In South Korea
(Continued from page 1) the US, South Korea’s historic
New York Attorney General Le- It can be difficult to tell from the make any investments. Even if it investment in the United States,
titia James has issued an investor video alone if it is a deepfake. appears to be a livestream, this Congressional Delegation met and how our countries can work
alert warning New Yorkers about Once their victims show inter- could in fact still be a deepfake. with President Yoon Suk Yeol together to strengthen outbound
scams that are luring potential est in the supposed investment, • To do a reverse search of to discuss the importance of the investment restrictions to China
investors with fake videos created scammers may try to move the the footage used, check reliable US-Korea alliance in the face of and our critical and emerging
with artificial intelligence (AI) to conversation off of public social sources for previous interviews of authoritarian pressure from China technology supply chains.
show celebrities and business lead- media into encrypted private mes- the speaker. Fraudsters will often and North Korea; and, the delega- The Delegation concluded
ers touting fraudulent investment saging services such as Whatsapp utilize footage from an existing tion also met with Korean legisla- with a visit to the American and
schemes. These AI-manipulated or Signal. After the victims have public video or audio. tors at the National Assembly. Korean Joint Security Area at
videos, known as deepfakes, of- made an initial investment on the • Do not provide any personal in- The Congressional Delegation the Demilitarized Zone between
ten appear in social media feeds, fraudulent platforms described formation, financial information, met with the Foreign Trade Min- North and South Korea to learn
digital ads, and messaging apps in the ads, scammers will often log in credentials, etc., to individu- ister to discuss the importance of more about the work of our troops
and are expected to fuel billions of create fake websites showing the als that you have only met online. trade between South Korea and in the region.
dollars in fraud every year. After investment increasing in value • If a solicitation comes from
receiving complaints from New and encourage victims to send one of your known contacts, verify Older Adult Town Hall At Forest Hills
Yorkers about these videos and more money. After making more that it is your actual contact by Community Center
their associated scams, the Office investments, sometimes totaling reviewing their profile and con-
of the Attorney General (OAG) is hundreds of thousands of dollars, tacting them through an alternate
urging New Yorkers to follow tips victims will be unable to with- form of communication, such as
to protect themselves and to report draw their funds or will be asked a phone call.
this misleading content to law to pay more in withdrawal fees • To prevent fraudsters from im-
enforcement and the social media or “taxes.” Eventually, the scam- personating your contacts, change
platforms they appear on. mers will cut off contact, having your profile settings to keep your
“Sophisticated scammers are pocketed the victim’s money from friends list, photos, videos, posts,
using AI to impersonate trusted the first investment. Even worse, and even comments private.
business leaders and scam vul- victims may be later contacted • Do not click on any links in
nerable New Yorkers out of their by services that suggest they can emails or direct messages unless
hard-earned money,” said Attor- retrieve their funds, only to end you have confirmed the identity
ney General James. “Manipulated up draining more of the victims’ of the sender.
videos advertising phony invest- net worth. • Be wary of unsolicited invest-
ment scams are spreading like Attorney General James recom- ment opportunities, especially
wildfire on social media, and New mends that New Yorkers take the those that come via email, social
Yorkers should know how to avoid following steps to avoid becoming media, or phone calls. Legitimate
falling victim to these schemes. I the victim of a deepfake invest- firms do not aggressively push Queens is leading the way in City’s Older Adult Town Hall. Over
encourage anyone who encounters ment scam: potential investors to make quick older adult population growth in 120 older adults from our six Older
these types of scams to contact my • When considering investing, decisions or disclose sensitive in- New York City, with a remarkable Adult Centers across Queens gath-
office.” look out for the following red formation through these channels. increase of 39.3% in the last de- ered to discuss issues important to
Deepfake investment scams flags: • Enable Multi-Factor Au- cade. To care for Queens means to them, and had the opportunity to
target victims online with AI- • Promises of guaranteed returns thentication (MFA) on all your ensure that the needs of older adults ask Mayor Adams questions about
manipulated videos that show on your investment. accounts, particularly those re- are being heard and addressed. what’s being done to address those
wealthy individuals like Elon • Demands to invest immediately lated to finance and email. MFA By involving them in the City’s concerns. Many of the participants
Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Warren or warning that you will miss out requires more than one method decision-making processes, we can emphasized the need to increase
Buffet apparently touting the on the opportunity. of verification, making it much create more inclusive and equitable funding for NYC Aging to support
scammers’ investment schemes, • Requests to invest by celebrities harder for scammers to access communities. programs and services for older
which often involve cryptocur- or other famous people. your accounts—even if they use On August 28, we hosted NYC adults. Other issues mentioned
rency. Scammers use AI tools • Demands that you send cryp- sophisticated techniques like Mayor Eric Adams at our Forest include safety, housing, mental
to manipulate existing videos to tocurrency to a non-bitlicensed deepfakes. Hills Community Center for the health, and transportation.
change the voice and mouth move- platform or a private wallet. • Please keep in mind that these
ments of the individuals to create • Requests to move public con- transactions are almost always ir- Council Member James F. Gennaro
seemingly genuine endorsements versations to encrypted private reversible. If you decide to invest,
for their frauds. These videos are messaging platforms. keep all your paperwork and pre- Calls on DOT, Adams Administration to
then served to social media users • Conduct your own due dili- serve your communications. End E-Scooter Program in District 24
as advertisements or broadcast as gence by searching the internet for Attorney General James encour-
fake livestreams on platforms like reviews about the salesperson and ages anyone who may have been “Since the launch of the Mayor’s Transportation (DOT) and their
YouTube. Scammers may also pose by verifying any physical address a victim of this type of scam to e-scooter program in Northeast stakeholders are failing in their
as government officials or other provided by the salesperson. report it to OAG by filing a com- Queens, my office has gotten a promise to hold customers ac-
people in order to gain victims’ • You can check investment pro- plaint online or calling 1-800-771- lot of feedback from community countable when they finish their
trust. The accessibility of AI tools fessional registration at FINRA’s 7755. Any identifying information members, who are overwhelm- rides and ditch the scooters in
allows scammers to produce ads BrokerCheck. provided to OAG will be protected ingly unhappy about what it the middle of the sidewalk, or on
for their frauds at scale with a • Be wary of livestreams or other according to law and policies on has done to our quality of life. private property. While I cannot
variety of impersonations to target video/audio messages you receive the safeguarding of identifying I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it force DOT to end this program
a wide range of potential victims. that are trying to persuade you to information. again – e-scooters have no place or modify its rules, we have been
NYC Parks Serves Up Pizza-Specific Trash Cans To Manage in our community. Not only do sharing all the feedback we’ve
they pose a major hazard to both gotten directly with them. The
Trash, Fight Scourge Of Rats its operators and pedestrians, but community does not want these
Pizza boxes, difficult to fit in they are also often left haphaz- scooters here. I do not want these
ardly on sidewalks and streets, scooters here. And I call on this
typical trash cans, can now be creating dangerous obstacles on Administration and DOT to ter-
disposed in specially designed our sidewalks. It is clear from all minate this program in District
receptacles in five parks citywide this feedback that the Dept. of 24 immediately.”

NYC Parks Commissioner Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato
Sue Donoghue announced the
installation of new trash recep- And NYPD Hold 9/11 Memorial
tacles custom-designed for the
disposal of pizza boxes. Through New York State Assembly- ness. The ceremony is also a way
this initiative, visitors at parks woman Stacey Pheffer Amato to honor the NYPD class of 2001,
throughout the city can dispose is once again partnering with the over 1,100 officers who had
of their empty pizza boxes in the Community Affairs Bureau graduated a few months before
dedicated containers, rather than of the NYPD to host the annual the terrorist attack and jumped
forcing the rectangular boxes into “Memorial Prayer For The NYPD into action to save the lives of
circular bins. 9/11 Class” on September 7th at New Yorkers.
By keeping pizza boxes sepa- the Amphitheater on Beach 94th “The NYPD Class of 2001 had
rate from other trash, Parks hopes Street and Shore Front Parkway just graduated, they were still
to reduce trash can overflow to boxes and food waste are disposed “Pizza Rat will find no quarter starting at 10:30am. The memorial rookies, yet, none of our City’s
keep our parks cleaner, as bulky of separately will also reduce the in city parks soon enough, thanks event honors NYPD officers who finest hesitated to help on that day.
pizza boxes sometimes cause food sources available to rats, fur- to these pizza-ready trash cans,” were killed on September 11th, All of the first responders who ran
blockages inside traditional trash thering New York City’s ongoing 2001, along with those who have
cans. Ensuring that empty pizza rat-mitigation efforts. (Continued on page 9) died as a result of 9/11-related ill- (Continued on page 9)