AI voice scams are on the rise. Here’s how to protect yourself.

Artificial intelligence-enabled voice cloning tools have made it easier for criminals to mimic strangers’ voices and dupe victims into handing over large sums of money.

For example, a scammer might target a victim posing as their grandchild and claiming they require liquid assets — quick. Older people who might not be as familiar with recent technologies such as AI can be particularly susceptible to these types of scams, particularly when the caller on the other line sounds identical to a loved one. Phone numbers also can be spoofed to mimic those of callers known to the target of voice cloning scams. 

In 2023, elder citizens were conned out of roughly $3.4 billion in a range of budgetary crimes, according to the FBI data. The agency recently warned that AI has increased the “believability” or criminal scams given that they “assist with content creation and can correct for human errors that might otherwise serve as warning signs of fraud.”

Also commonly known as “grandparent scams,” a fraudster will impersonate an person’s loved one and claim they are in trouble, or require liquid assets immediately for some sort of emergency. 

“So much of it is based on psychology and hacking the limbic structure,” Chuck Herrin, field chief information safety officer for F5, a safety and fraud prevention firm, told CBS MoneyWatch. “They declare things that trigger a terror-based emotional response because they recognize when humans get afraid, we get stupid and don’t exercise the best judgment.” 

How to make a household secure word

The excellent information? Cybersecurity experts and law enforcement officials have a straightforward, but effective, recommendation for avoiding getting victimized by such scams: creating a household “secure word,” along with a protocol for verifying a household member or loved one’s identity.

That means choosing a word or phrase that can’t be easily guessed. Obvious identifiers like a street name, alma mater or other information that may be readily available online are ill-advised, experts declare. 

“It needs to be distinctive and should be something that’s challenging to guess,” Scobey said. “It shouldn’t be something that can be researched online about you or your household. Avoid street names, towns, phone numbers and person names as part of a pass phrase.”

A secure phrase, consisting of at least four words, offers a greater degree of safety, he added. 

Verify the caller’s identity 

Following a basic schedule that includes using a secure word is a excellent first line of defense against scammers. 

“This is a mass operation, they don’t worry about you, they just worry about impoverished safety. They are churning though thousands of people they found on the dim web,” Herrin of F5 told CBS MoneyWatch. “If you have a reasonable safety posture, you’ll probably be fine. But if you leave the window open, you’ll misplace your TV,” he said, comparing cybersecurity threats to physical vulnerabilities. 

Any period you are asked for budgetary assistance, require that the caller verify his or her identity. The key: Always inquire for the secure word before transferring any money. 

“household secure words can be a really useful tool if they are used properly,” Eva Velasquez, said CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit concentrated on ID safety. 

Velasquez gave the example of a phony grandchild calling a grandparent and saying something like, “I am in jail and require assist, and I am so distraught I can’t recall our password.” In a tense or emotional instant, the victim could be inclined to propose it up to the person in distress, putting themselves in jeopardy. 

“I do ponder they can be a very useful tool, but you have to explain to the household how it works so you don’t volunteer it,” she said. “We have had a couple incidents where the victim will declare the secure word first instead of letting the other person declare it.”