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BBB Scam alert: New tech creates fake calls and voicemails
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AI technology can be used mimic the voice of people you may know
Everyone knows to look for phony emails — they can commonly show up in an email inbox. Scammers can make messages that appear to come from anywhere, like the boss’s email account or a close family member. But what about phone calls and voicemail?
Scammers now use new AI technology to mimic the voice of someone and create a phone call or voicemail recording. This “voice cloning” technology has recently advanced, and anyone with the right software can clone a voice from a very small audio sample.
How the scam works
A voicemail is received from a superior at work. Instructions are given to wire thousands of dollars to a vendor for a rush project. The request is out of the blue. But it’s the boss’s orders, so the transfer is made. A few hours later, upon seeking to confirm that the payment was sent, there’s one big problem; no one has any idea what you are talking about! It turns out that the message was fake.
At home, a phone call or voicemail is received from a family member in an urgent situation like an accident or a medical emergency. They provide convincing details and ask for money immediately via a payment app like Venmo or PayPal. After it is discovered that the story wasn’t true, the money is gone.
A consumer shared on BBB Scam Tracker, “Received call on 1-26-24 I thought it was my daughter-in-law she said Hi mom calling to say she was pulled over driving and has a broken nose and is now being jailed. She was frantic to have me call the lawyer right away. She asked me 3 times if I wrote the name & number down. I said yes. She said she had to go right now as they are taking her. Her voice sounded just like my daughter-in-law.”
How to avoid AI voice cloning scams:
- Resist the urge to act immediately. No matter how convincing a phone call or voicemail may sound, hang up or close the message if something doesn’t feel right. Contact the person who claimed to have called directly with the phone number you have saved for them. Don’t call back the number provided by the caller or caller ID. Ask questions that would be hard for an impostor to answer correctly.
- Don’t send money if in doubt. If the caller urgently asks for money via a digital wallet payment app or a gift card, that may be a red flag for a scam. If you wire money or transfer funds via a prepaid gift card, remember that it is just like handing cash to someone and is irretrievable if it is discovered later to be a fraud.
- Secure your accounts: Whether at work or home, set up multifactor authentication for email logins and other changes in email settings. At work, verify changes in information about customers, employees or vendors.
- At work, train your staff: Create a secure culture at your office by training employees in internet security. Make it a policy to confirm any changes and payment requests before transferring funds. Don’t rely on email or voicemail.
Bobby Hansen is regional director for the Better Business Bureau Cedar Rapids office. Comments: (319) 365-1190; info@dm.bbb.org
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