At 10 p.m. on a Wednesday night, Laura* received a call from her young adult nephew, David. Crying hysterically, David explained that he was at fault in a serious car accident and was on his way to jail. Then, the phone was passed to someone else who introduced themselves as David’s public defender. “David needs $7,000 for his bail,” the public defender said. When Laura asked for more information, the public defender told Laura that there was a gag order and that she had to pay immediately, or else David might not get bail.
The following morning, after sending the money to the public defender via online transfer, Laura found out that David had been safe and sound at home all night. The whole thing had been a scam – but how had the fraudsters impersonated a call from David with perfect accuracy?
AI voice cloning is possible
Although it may seem like science fiction, AI voice cloning technology is readily available, both for benevolent and malevolent use. The fraudsters were easily able to gather online details about David and clone his voice using AI technology. All they had to do was change their caller ID to display David’s full name and then call his Aunt Laura to set up a sophisticated scam call.
Hard to believe? Check out this NBC News broadcast that shows how accurate an AI voice clone can sound.
Impersonation-style scam calls have always been around, but with the recent emergence of AI voice cloning, it is harder than ever to know when you’re being tricked. Fraudsters are more than willing to target close-knit families, taking advantage of people’s care and concern for their loved ones. They stage elaborate, frantic phone calls using your family member’s voice, report fake emergencies, and then request immediate payment to help your loved one out. This type of AI phone scam is on the rise.
All of this might seem futuristic and even frightening, but now is the time to talk about the emergence of AI phone scams with your tweens, teens, as a couple, and even with your parents and in-laws. By knowing the facts, you can prevent your family from being targeted and equip them to discern what is true.
Teach your family online safety
The first way to prepare your family members for AI phone scams is to teach them online safety. In Laura’s case, the fraudsters found personal information on David’s public social media profile, including his full name, his home town, and his family members’ identities. They also found video clips of David speaking, which they used to create their AI voice clone. Although it might be tempting to blame the much-younger David for his openness online, keep in mind that the older-and-wiser Laura had made well-intentioned blog posts mentioning that David was her nephew and had her personal phone number listed on an old Craigslist ad. To prevent your own family members from being targeted, make sure that everyone understands the importance of having a private profile on social media. Urge them not to post their phone number online, and if they must, not to link it to their full name.
It is also possible for fraudsters to change their caller ID so that it appears as your loved one’s name when your phone rings. To protect your family members, encourage them to add their loved ones to their phone’s contacts list. Make the contact unique by naming the loved one with a secret nickname, adding a profile photo that the phone’s user will remember, or even adding a unique emoji to the end of their name – any of these tips will ensure that potential targets can tell easily when an incoming call is truly coming from their loved one’s number. It is also advisable to agree on a top secret family “password” that the members of your family must give in any sort of emergency call or request for money – this tip is especially helpful for family members who use landline phones.
Know the script
The good news is that the fraudsters responsible for AI phone scams tend to rely on similar scripts. You can prepare your family to detect a fraudulent call by making them aware of what a fake caller might say. And remember, the biggest sign of a fraudulent call – the dead giveaway that comes up in every script – is a frantic request for immediate payment. Here are some of the common elements that occur across AI phone scam calls to share with your family:
- your loved one claiming they are at fault in a car accident (often involving hitting someone else),
- your loved one claiming that they have been arrested,
- your loved one claiming that they are detained at a border,
- your loved one claiming that they cannot afford an emergency medical treatment they just got,
- your loved one requesting money but asking you to keep it a secret,
- your loved one writing off their strange sounding voice as the result of an injury, illness, or poor connection,
- your loved one passing the phone quickly to a third party who claims to be a police officer, legal professional, etc.,
- the third party making excuses for why they cannot put your loved one back on the phone,
- the third party claiming there is a “gag order” or some other reason why they can’t give you more details,
- or the call coming in the evening or even the middle of the night.
Tell your family the truth about AI
In general, the most effective preventative measure you can take to prepare your family members for AI phone scams is to make sure they understand what AI can do. Family members who do not know what AI is capable of are especially vulnerable – in fact, impersonation-style phone scams are often nicknamed “grandparent scams” because they target people who are not tech savvy and have a lot of loved ones (sounds like grandparents, right?). However, AI phone scams do not only target the elderly – they can deceive anyone who does not understand what technology is capable of. Make sure that your family members of all ages are not naïve to the reality that they can be robbed over the internet or through a phone call. Even if you’ve chosen a screen-free upbringing for your children, ensure that your kids know what AI can do.
What to do when it happens
One night, it happened. On her landline phone, Bev got a call from her granddaughter. “I need help, Oma,” the granddaughter sobbed. “I’ve been arrested – the police found drugs in my car in Toronto – please don’t tell my mom and dad! I need $5,000 for a lawyer right now.” Then, the phone was passed to a police officer, who told Bev that she needed to pay immediately by purchasing e-giftcards and emailing them to the Toronto police department’s inbox.
Even though Bev’s adult children had warned her about AI phone scams, she still began to panic. The caller had called her Oma –which was what all of Bev’s grandchildren called her – and had mentioned Toronto, where her granddaughter was living. Could this really be a fraudulent call?
Chances are, if anyone received this type of call, their first impulse would be to run to their loved one’s rescue, despite knowing about AI phone scams. While it’s important to educate your family members on AI phone scams (like Bev’s children did for her), it’s also crucial to discuss what to do when it happens. Below is a list that you can go over with your family members that will help them to act wisely if they receive a suspicious call.
1. Pause
When you receive an alarming call from a loved one, take a moment to pause, breathe, and think. This is especially important when a loved one calls you to request money.
2. Question what you’re hearing
Try asking yourself these questions:
- Why would they contact me? Why is the “police officer” or “attorney” calling me, the grandparent/aunt/uncle/child of the person in trouble?
- Where is my loved one right now? Your loved one might be sleeping safely in their bed or enjoying a peaceful evening, unaware that their likeness has been used in an AI scam targeting you. You can simply call your loved one or a member of their household to find out where they are.
- Was the caller professional? In Canada, we can expect a standard of professionalism. A real professional would never ask you for gift cards, electronic transfers, or to leave cash at the door, nor would it be appropriate for Canadian institutions like the police department or a court to pick up cash from your home. It is never appropriate for a professional to tell you to keep something a secret or lie to a bank teller. All of these are tell-tale signs of criminal activity.
- Did the caller try to make me feel panicked? Did the caller keep calling me or insist that I must pay immediately? Were they pushy when I brought up checking with my spouse or paying tomorrow? Did they tell me that I can’t tell anyone about this? Purposefully inciting panic is a sign of a fraudster.
- Is the story adding up? Don’t ignore the parts of the caller’s story that just don’t make sense. Think about the logistics – do people really go straight to jail after a car accident? Can you truly bail someone out of jail with gift cards or cash? Would a hospital actually phone a patient’s relative to demand money?
- Even if this is true, do I need to rush to pay? Remind yourself that even if this worst case scenario turns out to be true and your loved one is in trouble, there is never a reason to pay a fee immediately. You can always pay the “bail” or “hospital fee” or “border tax” later on. If the situation is legitimate, you can pay the fee a few hours or even days from now. It’s wise to wait.
3. Call Back
By calling the caller back, you can take control of which phone number you are connected to. Insist to the caller that you must phone back immediately (they might be pushy, but stand firm), and then dial your loved one’s number using the keypad or click on their contact from your app. Do not use your phone’s “call back” feature and avoid calling any number that the caller provides you with. If the caller is claiming to represent an institution like a police department, a law firm, or an insurance company, you can search for that institution’s website and call the number listed there. By calling back, you’re guaranteed to be on the line with your real loved one or a legitimate institution, and you can verify whether the first call was fraudulent.
It's necessary to prepare your family members for the moment that they do get a panicked call from their loved one. Remind them to pause, question what they’re hearing, and call back – these three steps can help even your least technologically savvy family member to detect a scam.
All of this talk of AI impersonation might seem like something out of a movie, or you may be wondering if people actually fall for AI phone scams. The sad answer is yes, many have been deceived into handing over their savings to rescue their loved ones in these types of scams. In April 2024, the police apprehended 14 individuals in Montreal who were linked to a series of fraudulent phone calls that had defrauded $2.2 million from Canadians since February 2022.¹ Sergeant Kevin Talbot from the Lethbridge Police Service says that AI has only made phone scams more difficult to detect: “Victims are being convinced quicker and don't bother doing any followup because it sounds just like their grandchild,” Talbot told CBC.² Impersonation scam calls are nothing new, but with AI voice cloning technology and social media added to the mix, they’ve evolved to become much more convincing.
You might know a victim
You might know someone who is a victims of a phone scam – maybe even a member of your family who has stayed silent. Many victims never speak about being scammed because they are embarrassed; the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre estimates that less than five per cent of scams even get reported.³ If your family member has been a victim of an AI phone scam, have compassion and point out that fraudsters take advantage of people’s love and concern for others. Even if your family member got tricked, it shows that they have a deep care for their loved one. Tell them not to be ashamed – phone scams have become unbelievably sophisticated and can target anyone. Most of all, encourage your family members to report scams to the police, because reporting fosters awareness and awareness fosters preparedness.
The best time to prepare your family for AI phone scams is now. Tell your family members what AI can do – whether they are technologically unaware or they’re tech savvy. Without being regularly reminded and informed, everyone is at risk of falling victim. Emphasize the importance of online privacy for both younger and older members of your family. Teach them what to do if they ever receive a call from a loved one needing money. Finally, make sure to have these conversations regularly. It can even be helpful to share instances when you received a phone, text, or email scam and explain how you knew it was fake. This alleviates any extra shame for people who may be targeted because of their age or lack of technological prowess. Remind them that it can happen to anyone and does!
Although the emergence of this new type of fraudulent call is alarming, you can prevent your family from being targeted and prepare them for the day that call comes.
*names have been changed.
