Picture this scenario: You get a call and you hear a voice that sounds like a relative such as a grandchild in a panic, or perhaps a friend pleading for money. They may say that they are stuck in a foreign country and can’t get home, or they are in jail and need bail money. Whatever the case is, they need help. And they need money.
Now I have heard of a version of this scam many years ago where you get an email from either an email account that has a spoofed email address that belongs to a relative or friend that you recognize, or from a hacked email account that belongs to a relative or friend that you recognize. But AI has taken this scam to the next level. What scammers are now doing is the following:
- The scammer picks a victim.
- The scammer finds a voice from a friend or relative of the victim. The voice can be from a TikTok video for example.
- The scammer uses AI based voice cloning program to clone the voice and give it the ability to say anything.
- The scammer then calls the victim by phone and executes the scam.
This sounds like a science fiction movie plot, but it isn’t. The cost of these AI based voice cloning programs are dropping by the day. That combined with the fact that a simple Google search will help a scammer to find a piece of software that fits their needs means that this is a real problem that you have to be aware of.
So, how do you protect yourself from this new scam? First of all, assume that it is a scam by default by not trusting the voice that you hear. Nor should you trust the phone number that is on your call display. Call the person who supposedly contacted you and verify the story by using a phone number you know is theirs. If you can’t reach your friend or relative that way, try to get in touch with them through another family member or their friends. Also, if they are asking for money via wire transfer, cryptocurrency or via gift cards, this is absolutely a scam and you should hang up immediately.
How prevalent is this scam? I can’t say based on my research of this scam. But if the word gets out about this scam, it is likely that the scammers will move on to something else as this scam will no longer be effective. Thus please share this with your friends and family so they will know how to protect themselves against this scam.