Scammers use AI voice for family emergency schemes

Among the newest scams is one that almost seems to be from a sci-fi movie – artificial intelligence (AI) – and fraudsters are using a person’s voice to acquire personal information.

Imagine receiving a panicked call from a grandchild. He says he’s in trouble — he landed in jail and you can help by sending money. Even though you didn’t recognize the phone number on caller ID, it sounds just like him and you want to help.

How could it be a scam?

Voice cloning is where a scammer gets a short audio clip of a family member’s voice — something he could acquire from content posted online.  Using AI and a voice-cloning program, he is able to mimic the voice and create a whole conversation.

Then, when the scammer calls you, he’ll sound just like your loved one.

How can you tell if a family member is in trouble or if it’s a scammer using a cloned voice?

Don’t trust the voice. Call the person who supposedly contacted you and verify his or her story. Be sure to use a phone number that you know is theirs also. If you’re unable to reach the loved one, try getting in touch with them through another family member or friend.

The common denominator of these types of scams is that the fraudster will ask you to make some kind of payment or to send money in a way that make it difficult to recover. If the caller tells you to wire money, send cryptocurrency or buy gift cards and give them the card numbers and PINs, those are common signs of a scam.

This new technology of voice cloning is available to anyone, so even small-time criminals have access to it.