Rina, 74, considers herself careful. She ignores suspicious links, doesn’t answer unknown calls and keeps up with news about scams to stay safe and informed. Because of her knowledge, when her phone rang and she heard her grandson’s voice on the line, she was immediately suspicious.
“Grandma, I messed up,” he said shakily. He told her he’d been in an accident and needed money quickly, but was embarrassed to tell his parents. He begged her not to tell them and to just keep the request their little secret.
Rina wasn’t sure what to do. She’d heard of scams where someone pretends to be a relative in trouble, but this didn’t sound like a stranger’s voice. She and her grandson chatted on the phone regularly and this sounded exactly like him.
The New Version of an Old Scam
Impersonation scams aren’t new, but they have become far more sophisticated. With today’s AI technology, scammers can recreate a person’s voice using short audio clips pulled from social media videos or other online recordings. The resulting audio doesn’t just sound similar to the person, it can sound nearly identical to them, making it very convincing.
That’s why these scams cost victims millions of dollars a year. They rely on urgency, emotion and the familiarity of a family member’s voice to push people to act quickly.
What Made Her Pause
Something still didn’t feel right to Rina. Instead of sending money, she hung up and called her grandson directly using the number she already had. He answered and immediately assured her that he wasn’t in trouble. He was just leaving his part-time job and was safely on his way home.
Rina was relieved. The call she’d received wasn’t from him; it was from a scammer using a cloned version of his voice.
How to Protect Yourself
If you ever receive a call from someone claiming to be a loved one in trouble, pause and take a breath. Scammers create panic so you don’t have time to think. One of the safest steps you can take is to hang up and contact the person directly using a trusted number.
As technology evolves, so do scams. This means our awareness has to rise to meet the new level of believability available to criminals. Knowing that convincing voices can be faked makes it easier to slow down, verify and protect yourself.
