AI voice cloning scams are one of the most sophisticated deepfake frauds in which scammers mimic people’s voices with insane accuracy to approach their target and scan them. They use AI voice cloning tools to replicate the voices of individuals to deceive their target and steal money from them. Cybercriminals create convincing audio in phone calls impersonating a relative, friend, or acquaintance to attack and manipulate their target. They use fake tales or make-up sad stories to play with the emotions of their targets and provoke them to take instant action.
For example, they mimic the voices of loved ones and claim to be in danger and need immediate financial help to get out of trouble. Victims act impulsively and without verifying anything, transfer the requested amount. As soon as they pay the money, scammers leave the scene without leaving any trace. By the time the victim realizes it is a scam, it is too late. So, this post discusses AI voice cloning scams and provides effective tips to protect against them so that you can stay safe and secure. So let’s get started!
How do AI Voice Cloning Scams work?
In AI voice cloning scams, fraudsters start with collecting voice samples of people from openly available sources like social media, videos, and audio recordings. After that, they feed this information to artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to train the model on the sound, tones, and speaking style of an individual. AI tools process this information and generate a convincing clone and sound replica of the person. Once this is done, scammers use text-to-speech AI tools to simulate a conversation in a cloned voice to approach their target and deliver him distressing news and ask for immediate help.
When the person listens to the cloned voice on their device or voice message they rush to the aid of their loved ones in distress. It provides the scammers with whatever requests they make to get out of danger and being scammed. This is a simple outline of how voice cloning scams work. Cybercriminals exploit the emotional connections of the target with their loved ones and force them to take actions that lead them to scams.
What Risks do Voice Clone Scams Involve?
Voice clone scams involve significant risks that affect your personal, social, and financial life. Cybercriminals hijack your trust, play with your emotions, and leave scars that remain for a lifetime. Here are some serious voice deepfake attacks involved:
Financial Loss
Deepfake voice attacks pose a serious risk to your financial assets such as Internet banking, online payment, and shopping gateways. Scammers contact you replicating as your loved ones, best friends, or close relatives to create a sense of trust and emotional inclination. They fake a crisis or create an urgent situation and ask you for financial help to get out of the trouble. In the heat of the moment, you give no second thought but take immediate action to deliver the amount to your friend. It is only later you realize that you have become a victim of a scam.
Emotional Distress
Emotional distress is another big risk you face during fake voice calls and social engineering attacks. When a fraudster approaches you impersonating a close relative stuck in trouble, you feel mental distress and psychological pressure watching your loved ones in danger. You can have panic attacks or emotional breakdowns that can last for a lifetime. In that situation, if you survived the emotional crisis and moved to send help immediately you may end up breaking your bank. But when you realize it was a scam you become more distressed about the financial loss. You can experience sleepless nights for making a reckless decision and guilt of not detecting the scam.
Trust Issues, Big Time
Once you are betrayed on a fake phone call you grow up with trust issues. The feeling of betrayal changes you forever and weakens your trust in everyone. You can have a whole lot of complex emotional disturbances. In such a situation when someone calls you next time for genuine help, you won’t believe them. You will take people for crying wolf for the next time and this thing creates a cycle of mistrust and suspicion. It prevents you from even helping those who are really in trouble.
Identity Theft on Steroids
Identity theft is the highest risk you face in voice deepfake frauds. If the cybercriminals get a sample of your voice and create a copy of it they can use it to accomplish their malicious goals in various ways. For example, they can call your bank using your cloned voice to pass the voice verification security measure and access your online accounts. If the scammer already has your bank details then he can call a customer representative to reset the passwords and sanction a money transfer to their accounts. Customer support won’t be able to identify such frauds when someone asks them to do things with your account in your voice.
Reputation in the Gutter
If you are a celebrity or a socially influential bad actors can use your voice deepfakes to spread lies and promote wrong ideas in society. They can make offensive statements and mobilize support for an offensive cause or incite hate among people against specific things. These rumors and lies damage your reputation and create confusion among the people about your beliefs and shifts. It will take a whole lot of time and effort to clean the mess once the lies are spread among the people.
Wild Goose Chase for the Truth
Dealing with voice cloning scams is extremely difficult. Even security agencies and professional cyber crime investigators struggle to find out what is genuine and what is fraudulent. Scammers leave a chain of victims behind them and create confusion among all the people. Investigating agencies run from person to person to find the truth. It is quite difficult to trace the scammer and disentangle the situation.
Emotional Blackmail with a Tech Twist
Cybercriminals don’t just pick your pocket, they play with your emotions and deep-seated fears. Like a sadist, they take pleasure in seeing you in pain and distress. They know how to provoke a person and get him to act in haste without thinking logically. Bad actors feel good while playing with your emotions. It is a tech-fueled game of emotional warfare in which people become victims of mental distress.
How to Protect Against an AI Voice Cloning Scam?
Acting in haste and repenting later is the business model of scammers doing AI voice cloning scams. One moment of leisure and you end up losing your hard-earned money. However, if you act cautiously and give things a little time then you can easily outsmart online scammers. Here are some effective tips that help you deal with the AI voice cloning scams:
Pause and Verify
If you receive an emergency call from your loved ones asking for immediate help then don’t act impulsively. Take some time and verify the situation. Fraudsters thrive on your hasty decisions and immediate actions. In this situation, hang up and make a direct call to the supposed person. Confirm their situation before you take any action. Call the family and friends to further establish the truth. Once all is sorted then move proceed with your support.
Use a Codeword
Codewords, specific phrases, or words related to a special event, feeling, or part of the conversation are the best hints you can use to establish the truth. Throw one such hint in your conversation and ask about its meaning and context from the caller. Ask them if they recollect anything from the past when you use this word. It will help you confirm if the caller is your real friend or relative. If you get a negative or mismatching response then know something is fishy.
Limit Your Digital Footprint
Digital footprints are your online activities that include browsing the internet, uploading posts and video clips on social media platforms, and sharing personal information on social media platforms. Online criminals follow these digital footprints to collect personal information about you. They can take voice and video samples from your social media content and use them against you. Hence, you must limit your digital footprints to prevent fraudsters from learning about you and replicating you in their social engineering attacks.
Educate Yourself and Others
The first step to outsmarting a fraudster is to learn about them and spread the word to your family and friends like wildfire. Let them know the essential details and behind-the-scenes working of voice deepfake frauds. If they know about the workings of these online frauds they can easily outsmart the fraudsters. So, educate yourself and spread the word to others also. With this information, they can easily detect and prevent underlying dangers.
Question the Financial Pleas
If someone is asking you for cash for some urgent piece of work then take some time and ask about their requests. Confirm the situation and find the truth first. If your gut feelings are not ok, then do not act in a rush.
Use Two Factor Authentication 2FA
Double down your security by activating two-factor authentication (2FA) on all your sensitive accounts such as bank accounts, emails, and social media accounts. Fraudsters might clone your voice; they won’t be able to bypass the multilayered security system imposed on your financial accounts and social media platforms.
Adopt Technological Defenses
One of the best ways to detect and prevent AI voice cloning scams is to use technological tools such as caller ID verification software to identify fake contact numbers, voice watermarking methods to flag AI-generated voices, and AI detection software to detect synthetic sounds. Always use antivirus software on your digital devices to keep them secure from unseen online dangers and data stealers. These tools provide you with a wholesome and effective defense against potential dangers.
Stay Updated on Scam Trends
As the digital world and AI is evolving, new threats are also coming up. Cybercriminals are always busy developing new tools and tactics to defraud people and steal money from them. Hence, it is highly essential to stay updated on scams, trends, and cyber attacks. It will help you sniff out potential dangers and you can protect your loved ones from these tech-savvy wolves.
