AI chatbots making it harder to spot phishing emails, say experts

Chatbots are taking away a key line of defence against fraudulent phishing emails by removing glaring grammatical and spelling errors, according to experts. The warning comes as policing organisation Europol issues an international advisory about the potential criminal use of ChatGPT and other "large language models". Phishing emails are a well-known weapon of cybercriminals and fool recipients into clicking on a link that downloads malicious software or tricks them into handing over personal details such as passwords or pin numbers. Half of all adults in England and Wales reported receiving a phishing email last year, according to the Office for National Statistics, while UK businesses have identified phishing attempts as the most common form of cyber-threat. However, a basic flaw in some phishing attempts – poor spelling and grammar – is being rectified by artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, which can correct the errors that trip spam filters or alert human readers.