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☆ Magician with fork-bending world record says Dean Phillips consultant paid him to make fake audio of Biden
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

In an interview with NBC News, Paul Carpenter said he was hired to create the audio by Steve Kramer, a campaign specialist recently paid over $100,000 by long shot Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips' campaign. Around the time of their collaboration, in January, Federal Election Commission records show that Phillips' campaign paid Kramer $112,353 for "NEW YORK BALLOT ACCESS 2ND PAYMENT" and more than $17,000 for similar work in Pennsylvania. AdvertisementDespite having paid Kramer for campaign services, Phillips' campaign press secretary, Katie Dolan, said the trailing campaign did not ask for the Biden audio to be produced. Phillips' campaign didn't appear to receive much of a boost — if any — from the fraudulent robocall scam. After weeks of campaigning, Biden trounced him in New Hampshire's Democratic primary via a write-in campaign.

Persons: he's, Joe Biden's, Paul Carpenter, Steve Kramer, Dean Phillips, Carpenter, Kramer's, —, Kramer, Phillips, Biden, Katie Dolan Organizations: Democratic, NBC News, Business, NBC, Commission, New, Federal Communications Commission, Telephone Consumer Locations: New Orleans, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania

☆ AI-generated voices of dead shooting victims are sending gun-control pleas to lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Faith Karimi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

We have tried almost every single way to approach gun violence in a way that people will pay attention. There have been 50 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Brett Cross says he's unfazed by critics who are against the use of AI-generated voices of children killed by gun violence. But earlier this month, it announced that robocall scams using AI-generated voices are a violation of telecommunications law. He says some parents who’ve lost children to gun violence were reluctant to take part in the project.

Persons: CNN — Joaquin Oliver’s, Marjory Stoneman, “ It’s, ”, ” Manuel, Patricia Oliver, Joaquin, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Cody Jackson, “, Manuel Oliver, Uzi, Garcia, Mitch Renfro Uzi Garcia, “ I’m, Brett Cross, he’s, he's unfazed, Nuri Vallbona, Ethan Song, Akilah Dasilva, Mike Baughan, Jaycee Webster, Uzi Garcia, Jordan Vonderhaar, Biden, ’ landlines, Oliver, they’re, Alex Quilici, ’ —, Robert Wahl, ” Manuel Oliver, who’ve, It’s Organizations: CNN, Capitol, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, Kansas City, Robb Elementary School, Reuters, Maryland, Federal Communications Commission, New, Telephone Consumer, Concordia University Wisconsin, Hollywood Locations: Parkland, Parkland , Florida, Florida, Kansas, United States, Uvalde , Texas, Connecticut, Tennessee, Maryland, New Hampshire

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday outlawed robocalls that contain voices generated by artificial intelligence, a decision that sends a clear message that exploiting the technology to scam people and mislead voters won’t be tolerated. The announcement comes as New Hampshire authorities are advancing their investigation into AI-generated robocalls that mimicked President Joe Biden’s voice to discourage people from voting in the state's first-in-the-nation primary last month. Effective immediately, the regulation empowers the FCC to fine companies that use AI voices in their calls or block the service providers that carry them. “Bad actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable family members, imitate celebrities, and misinform voters,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a news release. “We’re putting the fraudsters behind these robocalls on notice.”Photos You Should See View All 15 Images

Persons: robocalls, Joe Biden’s, Jessica Rosenworcel, “ We’re Organizations: Federal Communications Commission, Telephone Consumer Protection, FCC, “ Locations: New Hampshire

☆ AI-generated voices in robocalls can deceive voters. The FCC just made them illegal
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) logo is seen before the FCC Net Neutrality hearing in Washington February 26, 2015. The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday outlawed robocalls that contain voices generated by artificial intelligence, a decision that sends a clear message that exploiting the technology to scam people and mislead voters won't be tolerated. The unanimous ruling targets robocalls made with AI voice-cloning tools under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, a 1991 law restricting junk calls that use artificial and prerecorded voice messages. Effective immediately, the regulation empowers the FCC to fine companies that use AI voices in their calls or block the service providers that carry them. "Bad actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable family members, imitate celebrities, and misinform voters," FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a news release.

Persons: robocalls, Joe Biden's, Jessica Rosenworcel Organizations: Federal Communications Commission, FCC, Telephone Consumer Protection Locations: Washington, New Hampshire

☆ FCC votes to outlaw scam robocalls that use AI-generated voices
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The unanimous FCC vote extends anti-robocall rules to cover unsolicited AI deepfake calls by recognizing those voices as “artificial” under a federal law governing telemarketing and robocalling. The FCC’s move gives state attorneys general more legal tools to pursue illegal robocallers that use AI-generated voices to fool Americans, the FCC said. “Bad actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable family members, imitate celebrities, and misinform voters,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a statement. In 2021, the FCC announced a $5 million proposed fine against right-wing operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman for allegedly using illegal robocalls to discourage voting in the 2020 election. As the FCC updates its interpretation of federal law, some US lawmakers have proposed revising the law directly to further deter illegal robocallers.

Persons: “, ”, Jessica Rosenworcel, “ We’re, Joe Biden, robocalls, Jacob Wohl, Jack Burkman, Andrew Schwartzman Organizations: Washington CNN, Federal Communications Commission, FCC, Protection, New, Authorities, YouMail, House Democrats, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, ” Locations: New Hampshire, Texas

☆ SMS marketing may cost more to set up than email, but 2 small-business founders say it's worth it
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Data indicates that people check their phones every 10 to 12 minutes and spend most of that time reading and responding to text messages. Since 2014, SMS marketing has helped GreenPal stay in direct contact with its 300,000 customers nationwide, increasing sales and engagement, Clayton said. Here's why SMS marketing can be a successful way to reach your customers. Understanding these rules is the biggest hurdle small businesses face in getting started in SMS marketing, she added. Often, businesses need to hire a company to build a custom program or use application-programming-interface services that offer SMS marketing, such as Mailchimp or Twilio.

Persons: SBOs, —, Bryan Clayton, GreenPal, Clayton, they've, Barbara Casey, Casey Organizations: Small, Service, Mobile, Consumer, SMS Locations: Nashville , Tennessee, SimpleTexting

☆ DirecTV might owe you around $460 — here's how to check in 30 seconds or less
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Haley Tenore | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Those impacted are expected to get roughly $460 each, plaintiffs said, and you can quickly check if you're eligible. How to check if you're eligible for a payout from DirecTVIt's easy to check — just head on over to DirecTVClassActionSettlement.com and click on the box on the right-hand side of the page that says "Phone Number Check." You can then enter a phone number into the text box and check to see if it was impacted. You can do that by clicking the "submit claim" button above the "Phone Number Check" button and enter your phone number into the text box. David Vance, Roxy Vance and Carla Schultz, who later joined the suit, said they also received telemarketing phone calls despite being on do-not-call list.

Persons: —, John Barrett, AC1, Vance, Haley Tenore, Diana Mey, David Vance, Roxy Vance, Carla Schultz Organizations: DirecTV, Service, Court, Northern, Northern District of, Telephone Consumer Protection Locations: An Ohio, Ohio, Northern District, Northern District of West Virginia, Diana Mey of Wheeling , West Virginia

☆ The spam and the scam: What's driving those incessant political fundraising email and text campaigns blowing up your inbox
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Each and every day, political campaigns send out fundraising requests via email and text messages. "It's an accepted part of fundraising that you're going to ruffle feathers," said one political consultant. Increasingly, consumers are drowning in a sea of spam messages and scams from political campaigns, and experts said it's not going to change anytime soon. And while they themselves said they get annoyed by the flood of spam messages, political campaigners said that annoying voters is simply part of the job. After the RNC repeatedly lobbied Google to drop its spam filter for political spam, the company briefly acquiesced before changing its mind after the 2022 midterm elections.

Persons: It's, —, Michael Escobar, Escobar, he's, He's, I've, she's, it's, Josh Nelson, Rory McShane, McShane, " McShane, it'll, they've, Nelson, there've, Donald Trump's, Anne Mitchell, Mitchell, Nick Daggers, I'm Organizations: Service, Institute for Social Internet, RNC, Google, Telephone Consumer Protection, FCC, Democratic, GOP

☆ Pelosi campaign pays Illinois man $7,500 after he sued over 'invasive and harassing' fundraising texts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An Illinois man sued Nancy Pelosi's campaign for more than $31,500 over unwanted fundraising texts. And according to federal campaign finance disclosures made public on Friday, the dismissal came after Rojas received a $7,500 payment marked "Settlement" from Pelosi's congressional campaign. Rojas and Pelosi's campaign did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. A fundraising text that Rojas received from Pelosi, according to the lawsuit. Screenshot/Rojas v. Nancy Pelosi for Congress et alA full copy of the lawsuit can be found below:

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