Imagine you receive a call on your phone and the person on the line has a voice that sounds just like a family member. They are frantic and say they are in trouble and need money urgently. This could be a scammer utilising AI to clone your loved ones voice.
Understanding how deepfake audio works can help you identify suspicious calls, understand whether it is a genuine emergency and avoid giving money or providing sensitive information.
What is an AI voice cloning scam?
An AI voice cloning scam is when a fraudster uses software to clone a persons voice. This could sound like your parent/child/friend/manager/customer service rep etc. The scammer will attempt to cause panic or build trust to steal your money, passwords and personal information.
Modern voice cloning tools can mimic many features of a persons accent, cadence and tone. This means that even if the attacker has never spoken to the person they are trying to clone, it could still sound very realistic.
You can no longer trust a familiar voice.
How does deepfake audio work?
Deepfake audio is synthetic or edited audio created using AI. Whilst there are many tools available to create this audio, most AI voice scams follow a similar process.
1. Gather audio
A criminal could gather audio from a public video, social media post, podcast, voicemail or leaked audio. Often a short clip of audio could be enough for the attacker to try to clone.
Depending on the tool used, a certain amount of audio may be required. The higher quality and longer the audio the better.
2. Analyse
Voice cloning software will analyse the pitch, pronunciation, texture and tone of the voice. The AI will use this data to create audio that sounds like the original person.
This doesn’t mean the software understands who they are, it is simply creating a clone.
3. Create clone audio
There are a few different ways to create this audio. Some use text to speech, others manipulate the voice of the person speaking. Scammers may also use pre-recorded audio.
This means the scam could be pre-recorded, partially automated or interactive. Just because the audio sounds natural doesn’t mean they are genuine.
4. Create urgency
Whilst the technology provides the cloned voice, the social engineering provides the pressure. Many fraudsters will make up a story about an accident, arrest, medical issue or sudden financial issue.
They often make you feel pressurised not to tell anyone, not to contact anyone and to give them money immediately. Often this is where the scam becomes apparent.
Common types of AI voice cloning scam calls
Voice cloning can happen in a few common scenarios:
- Family emergency – Someone with a cloned voice of a family member asking for urgent money.
- Boss/Workplace – Someone pretending to be your manager asking for a secret payment/transfer.
- Bank/Support – Someone pretending to be from a trusted organisation asking for account details or verification codes.
- Kidnap/Distress – Someone using a scary audio to make you believe a loved one is in trouble.
Not all scam calls will use deepfake audio. Traditional spoofing, recordings and human cloning still occurs. The best thing to do is to verify why they are asking for something.
How to spot a deepfake voice scam
Some AI voices may have some odd pauses, emotional inconsistencies, repetition and unnatural pronunciation. However, high quality fake audio won’t have any obvious issues and real voices can have issues with regular phone lines.
Look out for:
- Asking for money immediately.
- Telling you not to call them back.
- Asking for passwords, one off codes, gift cards, crypto or unusual payment methods.
- Pressuring you to act quickly.
- Changing their story when asked specific questions.
Don’t trust the caller ID. Criminals can spoof numbers to make it look like they are calling from someone you know or a trusted organisation.
What to do if someone with a familiar voice asks for money.
The best thing to do is to verify who they are.
Hang up and call them from your saved contacts. Don’t use the number they provided. If they don’t answer, call another trusted family member, colleague or official channel.
Ask them a question only they would know.
This could help identify if they are an imposter but criminals can gather personal information online. AI can also provide realistic answers.
Many families will have a secret phrase they can use to verify someone. Make sure this isn’t public. Don’t use the same password or security detail.
Don’t give them verification codes.
Never read out any one-off codes from your bank, email or messaging app. Even if they sound familiar don’t send them a screenshot.
Verify payments.
If it is a payment for a business, use your usual process and contact number. If it is a personal emergency, verify with someone you trust.
How to protect yourself from voice cloning scams.
Whilst you can’t control everything that is recorded online, a few simple things can help reduce the chances of you being manipulated.
- Check who can view videos and posts with your voice.
- Try not to share too much sensitive personal information online. This includes holiday plans and family information.
- Enable multi-factor authentication on important accounts. Make sure your recovery details are secure.
- Talk to your family about voice cloning. Especially those who may be targeted for emergency scams.
- Make a rule that if someone is asking for unexpected money they must be verified.
This will help reduce the risk but you can’t completely guarantee you won’t be cloned.
What to do if you have fallen for a scam.
If you have given them money, contact your bank/payment provider immediately and ask if they can stop/recover the payment. If you gave them your password, change it via the official website/app. Make sure any other accounts with the same password are secure.
If you gave them a one off code, contact them as soon as possible. Check your account to see what sessions are active and your recovery details. Save any call details, messages, receipts and account activity. Contact the relevant service and your local cybercrime/consumer protection.
Acting quickly could help reduce any further damage but you may not be able to recover the money.
Final Thoughts
Whilst the voice cloning makes the scam more realistic, it is still the same as ever. They want you to act without verifying the facts. The best thing you can do is not try to pick up on any digital issues. Simply refuse to take them as genuine.
If you feel something is off, hang up and verify. This simple action can stop even the most realistic AI voice cloning scam.
