‘It 100% sounded just like her’: AI voice scams are getting frighteningly convincing — here’s how to protect your family
A viral voice scam shows that even if you recognize the voice of a friend or loved one, that's no guarantee that it’s really them.
AI voice cloning technology has advanced to the point where scammers can convincingly imitate human voices, making it difficult for people to distinguish between genuine and synthetic voices. A recent incident involved a user on X who received a call from someone claiming to be their wife, asking for credit card information to pay for gas.
The caller sounded so much like their wife that the user entertained the possibility for a while, but ultimately realized it was a scam. The study of 4,100 US adults found that up to 36.1% of participants would comply with or be unsure about complying with an AI-powered "relative in distress" scam. Factors such as persuasiveness and AI exposure did not significantly impact a person's ability to identify synthetic voices.
To protect against these scams, it is recommended to establish a family code word and rely on it when receiving unexpected calls. If a call appears suspicious, it is best to hang up and contact the person directly using a known number.
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