Who said that? Protecting families from voice cloning scams

Anything connected to the internet — from smartphones to power plant controllers — can be manipulated. — Photo: — © PhotoTelegram

With AI-driven voice cloning scams on the rise, criminals are using this technology to impersonate loved ones and manipulate victims into handing over money or sensitive information. According to the latest Truecaller report, phone scams affected 56 million Americans last year, with victims losing an average of $452.

Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity expert at NordVPN, has discussed with Digital Journal about how families can outsmart scammers using a simple yet effective strategy: a secret family code. This method, along with other key precautions, can help prevent financial losses and emotional distress caused by deepfake scams.

Voice cloning

One reason why phone scammers are increasingly using voice cloning tools for their fraudulent activities is because this kind of software has become more affordable and effective over time. They use realistic voice clones to approach family members of the individual they are impersonating and extort money by simulating an emergency. One area that scammers can target is family videos shared on social media platforms like YouTube.

Once a scammer possesses a recording of your voice, they can deploy an AI tool to speak with your friends or family, asking for things like money or sensitive information that they can use to log into your online accounts.

“Phone scammers used to pretend to be policemen or doctors to swindle money from people by frightening them about a fake accident that happened to their loved one. Now they use samples found on social media to clone the voices of our loved ones. They put family members, who think they hear their loved one asking for help, under pressure to take the action desired by the scammer. This is a new reality, and we must prepare our families to deal with this kind of situation,” says Warmenhoven explains.

“As deepfakes dramatically change the landscape of scam phone calls, it is crucial to ensure that everyone in the family understands what voice cloning is, how it works, and how it could be used in scams, such as impersonating a family member to request money or personal information. Additionally, simple strategies to identify if the caller is a family member or a scammer should be discussed,” Warmenhoven adds.

How to stay safe

Warmenhoven proposes the following preventive measures to protect a family from voice cloning-based phone scams:

Create a family code word. While it might seem childish, setting up a secret code word or phrase that only family members know is an effective precautionary measure. This should be used to verify the identity of someone claiming to be a family member in suspicious situations.

Check before acting. If you receive a call from an unknown number without a caller ID and hear your friend, family member, or colleague make an unusual request, hang up and call back through your usual communication channels to clarify the situation. You can contact a traditional phone call or messenger app – whatever way is typical for you.

Create an emergency contact list. Maintain an updated list of family and close friends who can be contacted quickly to verify suspicious situations.

Be cautious about what you are posting on social media. Social media is the largest publicly available resource of voice samples for cybercriminals. You should be concerned about what you post on social media and how it could affect your security through the rise of deepfakes, voice cloning, and other scams enabled by AI tools.