Scammers use AI to clone voices, mimicking loved ones in urgent situations to request money.
Always verify unknown calls and double-check with the actual person before transferring any money.
Look out for robotic tones or unnatural pauses in calls, which could signal AI-generated voice cloning.
Online scams are getting more common by the day and scammers are now even using AI to con innocent people of their hard-earned money. A new scam that has surfaced is the AI voice cloning scam. Sunit Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel, is the most recent of such a scam. He revealed that scammers cloned his voice using AI and tried to trick Airtel executives into transferring large sums of money. The Airtel executives didn’t fall prey to such a scam, and if you want to avoid it too, here’s everything you need to know.
How does this scam work?
Using AI, scammers clone and create digital replicas of people’s voices and it doesn’t even require a lot of effort. They just use a short recording and share it with AI. It then identifies the person’s unique speech patterns to impersonate that voice. It could have been an interview in Mittal’s case. Scammers then use these cloned voices to create a sense of urgency, claiming to be relatives, friends, or even children in emergencies.
In most cases, scammers ask for money for urgent bail, urgent medical assistance, or help with a financial crisis. And victims, thinking that their families, end up transferring the money.
How to protect yourself from AI Voice Scams?
1) The first step is to check the country code before picking up any unknown calls. Avoid picking up calls from unknown or international numbers, particularly with country codes like +92, commonly used in scams.
2) Call the person that the scammer is referring to before you end up transferring money. You will know if there’s any truth to the claims.
3) Lastly, listen closely for robotic tones, unnatural pauses, lack of breathing, or anything that you know your relative or friend doesn’t do.
Overall, just stay vigilant and never transfer money without checking.
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Mustafa Khan
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