They’re stealing voices…and your money. Scammers are smarter than ever, and they prey upon honest people using new artificial intelligence (AI) tricks.
Criminals are now using AI technology to mimic the voices of your loved ones. They call good people and claim a loved one is under arrest, kidnapped or hurt. Then, they play the fake voice over the phone. You might hear a relative screaming, weeping or begging.
The scammer asks for money as a guarantee of your loved one’s safety. Reasons for the money include ransom, bail money, money to pay medical bills or whatever form of payment will save your “family member” or “friend.”
Of course, the money just goes into the criminal’s pocket. Your loved one was never in danger.
Guard against voice scams by:
- Creating a code word to use if someone you know is really in trouble. If the code word isn’t mentioned, you know the call is fake.
- Making social media accounts private so criminals can’t research your information and use it in an AI call.
- Vetting the caller’s number. If you don’t recognize the number, be wary of the caller. It’s better to hang up and see if the number is real than to become a scam victim.
AI can do a lot of great things, but you also need to watch out for the not-so-great things too. Be cautious when you get scary phone calls. Remember to ask yourself: “Is that really my loved one?”
We hope these tips give you a helping hand when fighting scammers. You can beat the voice snatchers!