Artificial intelligence can now mimic your voice — how to avoid these scams

A high-ranking member of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration had their voice cloned in an AI scam.

Here’s how you can avoid the same thing happening to you.

When a group of senior-level politicians answered the phone, they thought they were speaking with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Except they weren’t — they were speaking with a scammer who used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to mimic one of the top officials in Trump’s administration.

The scammer contacted three foreign ministers, a U.S. governor, and a member of Congress, sending them voice and text messages impersonating Rubio via the encrypted messaging app Signal, according to a story first reported by The Washington Post.

The report stated that U.S. authorities do not yet know who is behind the impersonation but believe the scammer was attempting to manipulate powerful government officials to gain access to information or accounts.

AI-powered scams are becoming increasingly common as the technology grows more sophisticated. In fact, 28% of adults in the UK say they believe they have been targeted, according to a survey by Starling Bank.

But how exactly do scammers use AI — and how can you avoid falling victim?

A new AI-driven technique is voice cloning fraud, where scammers can clone a voice using just a three-second audio clip. They can then trick friends or family into thinking a loved one urgently needs money, according to experts at Charles Sturt University in Australia.

Voice samples can come from short videos posted on social media platforms like TikTok.

AI works to create a realistic replica by capturing a person’s speech patterns, accent, and breathing, and can then be used to read text convincingly.

What can you do to avoid falling for such scams?

Cybersecurity experts Matthew Wright and Christopher Schwartz from the University of Rochester in the U.S. recommend people be “alert” to unexpected calls — even if they seem to come from someone you know well.

Sending a message or email before a scheduled call can help confirm the identity of the person on the other end.

Relying on caller ID isn’t enough, write Wright and Schwartz in The Conversation, since voice cloners are capable of spoofing it too.

Calls from unknown numbers also pose a risk, according to a factsheet on caller ID spoofing from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

It’s essential to verify the identity of anyone calling or sending you a voice message. If it’s someone you know, look up their number independently and call them back using the contact you already have to confirm their identity, says the FBI

.

The FBI also suggests checking contact info, email addresses, or URLs for “minor differences” scammers may use to trick you.

To avoid becoming a target of this type of scam, be cautious about sharing personal information online, such as your birthdate, phone number, middle name, or pet names.

These details can be combined with voice cloning to impersonate you.

If you receive a message or call from a suspected scammer and choose to engage, Wright and Schwartz warn that every word you say is likely to be exploited.

And if the scammer is impersonating someone you know, think twice about what’s being said.

“KORÇA BOOM”