Internet Safety: Rotimi Onadipe advise users to investigate before responding to SMS, Emails, Social Media, Phone Calls

In line with his organisation's commitment to informing, educating and counselling users about how to prevent internet fraud and other online risks, the Founder and Publisher of Internet Safety Magazine, Rotimi Onadipe, has advised users to be cautious of responding to emails, phone calls, SMS, social media or other documents sent to them without thorough investigation.

The online safety advocate gave the advice on Saturday during his Online Safety Awareness Broadcast, which takes place every week with the aim of increasing online safety education among internet users globally.

Onadipe, who is a renowned advocate of internet safety, lamented how many children, young adults and elderly people fell victim to Artificial Intelligence scams in recent years after responding to phone calls, emails and SMS from fraudsters that pretended to be friends, business partners, neighbours or family members.

Onadipe noted that internet fraudsters are now misusing Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to create cloned voices, text messages, images, videos, personal and business documents in order to deceive and defraud unsuspecting victims of their hard-earned money.

"While we are happy and enjoying the benefits that Artificial Intelligence has brought to us in this era of digital technology, we must also be careful because fraudsters are now using the advantage for their nefarious activities, targeting innocent individuals and organisations around the world.

"So, don't be their next victim. You must be informed that with the advancement of some Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, you will be making a big mistake if you think you can verify the identity of a caller or sender of an email, social media message or SMS by the person's name, voice, email address, profile picture or social media handle. Technology has advanced beyond that and we must all be very careful in this era of digital technology.

"Please don't fall for Artificial Intelligence (AI) scams. Take note that the only way you can avoid falling victim is to always verify the source and authenticity of every call, email, social media message, news, text message, picture, audio or video before you respond to anyone," Onadipe added.