clock: New Warning on AI Voice Clone Scam
A Texas father says he was scammed out of $1,000 and warns other family members about artificial intelligence scams.
“When you’re in anxiety and panic, when you’re there to help your family, I think logic gets thrown out the window,” Lee Hall told Good Morning America. “Scammers are betting there and now we have to raise our level of sophistication to prevent this from happening to our loved ones.”
Mr Hall said his father, who did not name him, received a heartbreaking phone call, believed to be from Mr Hall’s son, his grandson Christian.
“He told his grandfather that he was vacationing in Mexico with his friends. , you need money to get out of that situation,” Hall said of a call from her father. It was from Christian.
Scammers allegedly used artificial intelligence, known as AI, to disguise Christian’s voice and demand help and money, according to Hall.
Hall said her father sent $1,000 to an alleged fraudster.
“The story is very believable,” Hall said of the phone call her father received. “The scary part is that my father is completely socially disconnected. He doesn’t have a social media account. He doesn’t even have an email. , which makes it even scarier.”
Hall said the couple confirmed the scam when they called their son, who is in college.
“We knew it was a scam because we knew it.” [Christian] “It was fine. We knew he was in Dallas, so we called him right away. And he said, ‘Yes, Mom, I’m going to college in Dallas.’ , which turned out to be a fraud.”
Last month, Arizona mother Jennifer DeStefano also told GMA how she received a disturbing call that turned out to be an AI voice cloning scheme.
“It’s the voice of a daughter crying and sobbing, ‘Mommy,'” DeStefano said. “And I’m like, ‘Okay, what happened?'” She was like, “Mom, these bad guys are telling me to help, help me.” ”
Details: AI photography is taking social media by storm. Why are some people concerned about privacy?
DeStefano later said a man demanded a ransom payment in exchange for Briana’s safe release. However, he doesn’t want to wire her ransom money, so he tells her he wants to pick her up on her behalf.
Luckily, DeStefano was able to confirm her daughter’s safety within minutes.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said scammers could use AI to easily duplicate the audio of short audio clips commonly found on social media.
Read more: Mother warns of hoax using AI to replicate daughter’s voice
According to the FTC, identity theft will be the most reported fraud in 2022, with losses reaching $2.6 billion.
How to protect your family from AI scams
FTC Commissioner Samuel Levin said the scam is so effective because it mimics the personal and can lead to hasty actions. Instead, he said to stay calm and contact authorities.
“They are trying to use our connections with relatives and friends to hand over money or personal information to people, which can cause a lot of damage,” he said. .
Experts say if a caller asks for a wire transfer, gift card, or virtual currency, that’s a serious red flag of possible fraud.
Experts also advise keeping your social media accounts private so scammers can’t duplicate your voice from your posts.
Scammers often spoof phone numbers, so experts urge people who receive such calls to hang up and call their loved ones directly rather than just redialing.
Experts also recommend that families develop watchwords that they can say to each other if a real problem arises.
