McAfee Warns AI Can Pinpoint Travel Locations From Photos

Anti-virus software producer McAfee has identified a new fraud technique where criminals employ artificial intelligence to analyze social media holiday photos to determine a user's precise location. By examining architecture, signage, lighting, and landmarks, AI agents can pinpoint where a person has traveled even in the absence of location tags or metadata.

Scammers use this location data to craft highly credible phishing texts or emails. These messages typically claim that bank cards were compromised or that unusual activity was detected in the specific city or country the victim is visiting, tricking them into revealing sensitive financial details. In tests involving over 21,000 travel images using two free AI models, McAfee found accuracy rates of 91% and 87%.

Vonny Gamot, head of EMEA at McAfee, noted that AI provides the context necessary to make these scams and threats credible. The company warned that while generic settings like hotel rooms or beaches are more difficult to pinpoint, AI can often still identify the country, which provides enough legitimacy for scammers to deceive their targets.