Scammers Could Be Using AI-Cloned Voices of Your Family—Here’s How To Tell if You're Being Targeted and What To Do
The FTC is stepping in.
Our technology continues to advance at such a rapid pace. You would think this is a good thing (and in a lot of cases, it is)—however, updated technology sometimes provides new ways for scammers to take advantage of people. This is exactly what is currently being done with artificial intelligence, specifically AI voice cloning. The AI voice generator technology is making it easy for scammers to fool people into thinking that they are getting a call from a family member needing help. So, how do you know who exactly you're speaking with? We'll explain how to tell and what to do if you suspect foul play, according to the FTC.
With AI technology being unregulated, there's no telling how far scammers can go with deceiving people for their own gain. That's why knowledge is power—we need to be aware of what is out there and how to spot this artificial intelligence gone awry. It's stressful enough with all of the other scams out there to look out for, like Facebook Marketplace scams or Shark Tank scams. But having to now discern a scam that sounds so believable and hits so close to home is disheartening, to say the least.
To keep you informed on this newest scam, here is everything that you need to know about AI voice generation and how scammers are using it for their benefit.
What Is an AI Voice Generator?
As explained by Speechify, AI voice generators are text-to-speech tools that are available on many devices. They can be used to turn any type of text into voice files. Voice generators are a great tool for people with reading disabilities or to help with pronunciation.
There are many services already that allow anyone to generate voices. For instance, Speechify is one of the services and claims to be one of the best text-to-speech apps. They claim that the best thing about it is that the generated voices sound very natural and can even convey human emotion.
One of the ways voices are generated is with an actual voice sample. Once you have a voice sample, you just have to type your text into Speechify or another text-to-speech app and let the app do the work of assigning your voice sample to what you want it to say.
The problem is that this specific technology is being abused.
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How Are Scammers Using AI?
Scammers are using voice cloning to make calls that are very believable because you are hearing a familiar voice of a family member or friend. Since they can get a clip of a person's voice easily from a short social media video, they are using that sample to generate voice cloning. Then, they give you a call.
It will be an alarming call and the voice will be in distress because of a problem. They may claim to be a grandson in jail or some other serious issue that would require money for bail or to pay a debt. The caller will want you to send money to help with the situation.
Although this is bad enough, it can be even worse. Scammers could use AI to make it sound like they have a child that they are holding for ransom. If parents hear an actual voice that sounds just like their child, they could go into panic mode and believe or do anything. According to Life Hacker, this is a scheme that has been going on even before voice cloning was a thing. Now, this scheme is just that much easier.
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How To Tell if You Are Being Targeted by a Scammer
According to the FTC, don't trust the voice. If you get a call from a loved one that is alarming, the first thing that you need to do is try calling them back. When you are making the call yourself, you can be confident in who you are talking to and should be able to verify the call.
If you are unable to get ahold of the person by phone, then call a family member or friend who is close to that person. There is a chance that the scammer, using voice generation, will say something like "I am in trouble and need money but don't tell my parents." Even if this is what is said, still contact the parents or other family members.
Since scammers are ultimately asking for money, you can also usually spot a scam by the way they are asking for money to be sent. For instance, if the caller wants money either wired or given in the form of gift cards, your antenna should go up. This is typically how scammers want to be paid as it makes it harder for you to get your money back.
You could also be a little proactive in coming up with a plan ahead of time, in the event you get an alarming call from a scammer. TikToker Rachel Woods talks about coming up with a safe word with your family members that could be repeated to you during a phone call. A scammer would not know the word and wouldn't be able to tell it to you.
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What To Do if You Suspect You Are Being Scammed by Voice Generation
If you suspect that you are being scammed, the FTC wants you to report it to them. Go to their fraud report page and enter your information. The FTC then uses the information to share reports with their law enforcement partners to help with investigations.
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