Social media security: the impact of AI-generated Whatsapp scams on the security and privacy of Whatsapp community groups

The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionised many sectors, including cybersecurity. However, it has enabled cybercriminals to create more sophisticated and convincing scams. This study investigates the impact of AI-generated scams on social media, especially WhatsApp community groups. Although extensive research exists on traditional phishing and social engineering attacks, the implications of AI-generated scams on messaging platforms such as WhatsApp still need to be explored. This study will fill this gap by examining how AI-generated scams impact user security and privacy in WhatsApp Community chat groups. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative analysis of scam incident reports with qualitative surveys of affected users. Data was collected from academic databases, WhatsApp user forums, and direct surveys to analyse the patterns and identify common characteristics of AI-generated scams. The findings revealed that AI-generated scams on WhatsApp are highly personalised and convincing, leveraging advanced AI techniques such as natural language processing and voice cloning. These scams significantly compromise user privacy and security, leading to substantial financial loss and emotional distress. This research contributes significantly to social media security by analysing AI-generated scams on WhatsApp. It underscores the urgent need for enhanced security measures and user education to mitigate such threats. This study also recommends some techniques and strategies to reduce threats to the security and privacy of WhatsApp community groups Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Scams, WhatsApp Community Groups, Phishing, Deepfake, Cybersecurity, Voice Cloning.