When a group of high-level politicians picked up the phone, they thought they were talking to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Only they weren’t – they were speaking with a scammer who used artificial intelligence (AI) to impersonate one of the most senior officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The imposter contacted three foreign ministers, a US governor, and a member of US Congress, sending them voice and text messages impersonating Rubio over the encrypted app Signal, according to the story first reported by the Washington Post.
The report said that US authorities do not know who is behind the impersonation, but they believe the scammer was trying to manipulate powerful government officials to get access to information or accounts.
Scams involving AI are becoming more common as the technology becomes more sophisticated, with 28 per cent of adults from the United Kingdom saying they believe they have been targeted, according to a poll from Starling Bank.
But how exactly do fraudsters use AI – and how can these scams be avoided?
How are scammers using AI?
A new technique for scammers that has emerged with AI is called voice cloning fraud, where scammers can clone a voice with a three-second piece of audio and trick friends or family into thinking that a loved one urgently needs money, according to experts from Australia’s Charles Sturt University.
The voice samples can come from short videos that have been posted to social media platforms such as TikTok, the experts continued.
The AI works to create a realistic replica by capturing a person’s speech patterns, accent, and breathing, and can be used to read text with accuracy.
An alert from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also described these messages as “smishing and vishing” because they often contain links that are sent under the guise of moving the conversation to another platform, similar to email phishing.
What to do to avoid fraud
Cybersecurity experts Matthew Wright and Christopher Schwartz from the US-based University of Rochester recommend that people be “mindful” of unexpected calls – even from people you know well. Texting or emailing someone ahead of a planned call can help you validate the other person’s identity.
Counting on caller ID is not enough, Wright and Schwartz wrote for the Conversation, because voice cloners are able to fake that as well.
Calls from unknown numbers could also be a risk, according to a fact sheet on caller ID spoofing from the US Federal Communications Commission.
It is important to verify the person who is calling or sending a voice message to you, so before responding, research the number and if it’s someone you know, call them back at the phone number you have to verify their authenticity, according to advice from the FBI.
The FBI suggests checking contact information, email address, or URLs to spot “slight differences” that scammers could be using to gain your trust.
For example, the agency says bad actors can use publicly available photographs in messages, or use “minor alterations in names” or information to deceive victims.
Another tell in a voice message could be that the tone and word choice being used could be different from what you’re used to from a known contact, the FBI said. If there is doubt, you could set a secret word or phrase between family members to verify their identities.
To prevent being the target of a scam, be mindful of disclosing personal information online, like your birth date, phone number, middle name, or pet names. These facts can be used along with voice cloning to impersonate you with banks or others, Wright and Schwartz said.
If you do hear from one of these scammers either by text or phone and engage with them, Wright and Schwartz recommend being aware both of what your intellectual and emotional biases are, because they will likely be exploited by the scammers.
If the scammer is impersonating someone you know, think twice about what is being said, they continue. If it is uncharacteristic or confirms your worst fears about someone, proceed with caution.
