Fraud Tip

Cybercriminals turn to artificial intelligence (AI) voice cloning for a new take on an old scam and three seconds of audio is all it takes. Cybercriminals began using new artificial intelligence voice cloning tools and created a new breed of scam. With a small sample of audio, they can clone the voice of nearly anyone and send bogus messages by voicemail or voice messaging texts.

The aim, most often, is to trick people out of hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. You get a call. There's a panicked voice on the line. It's your grandson. He says he's in deep trouble — he wrecked the car and landed in jail. But you can help by sending money. You take a deep breath and think. You've heard about grandparent scams. But wow, it sounds just like him. How could it be a scam?

Artificial intelligence is no longer a far-fetched idea out of a sci-fi movie. Advancements in AI are leading to an influx of sophisticated social engineering scams. Scammers are using AI to clone the voice of your loved one to make their scam seem more realistic and believable. All the scammer needs is a short audio clip of your family member's voice, which the scammer could get from content posted on social media. When the scammer calls you, they will use the cloned voice of your loved one and it will sound very convincing.

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

Don’t automatically trust the voice in the text message, voicemail or phone call. Call your loved one directly to verify the story. Use a phone number you know is theirs. If you can’t reach your loved one, try to get in touch with them through another family member or their friends.

Scammers ask you to pay or send money in ways that make it hard to get your money back. If the caller says to wire money, send cryptocurrency, or buy gift cards and give them the card numbers and PINs, those are red flags and an indication that it is most likely a scam.