The so-called “grandparent scam” (aka “family emergency scam”) is experiencing a revival, with a new and more sinister twist. This time around, fraudsters are using voice cloning technology that makes the scam even more difficult to detect. Seniors tend to be targeted more than other groups.
The scam works like this: You get a call from someone who sounds just like your loved one – but it is NOT your loved one. The person says he/she is in trouble and urgently needs you to wire money. Maybe they say they are in jail and need you to bail them out; or they are in a foreign country and need money to replace a stolen passport; or they have been kidnapped and the captors are demanding ransom money. In all cases, the scammer is counting on you to panic and immediately comply.
The root of this scam? Artificial intelligence. New technology now allows bad actors to simulate a person’s voice based on just a fragment of it. The fragment can come from a tik tok post on social media, or a voice mail greeting. The video below explains how voice cloning is being harnessed by bad actors to defraud their victims:
How to Protect Yourself
Preventive steps for all family members:
- Get together with your family and agree on a code word or phrase that only you know. It should not be information that scammers might be able to grab off the internet, such as addresses or alma maters. It should be unique, known only to you and your family. It could even be a nonsense phrase. Then, if you ever get a grandparent scam call, ask for the safe word. If you don’t get it, you know the call is a deep fake.
- On social media, less is more. Limit who can see your content. Avoid uploading any videos that have your likeness and voice.
- Instead of creating a personalized greeting on your phone, use an automated, generic voice mail greeting.
- Install caller ID and spam-blocking apps on your phone.
If You Receive A Call:
- Stay calm. Easier said than done, obviously.
- Listen for anything that sounds “off” – robotic sounds or strange pauses, for example – that may tip you off that the voice is not authentic.
- Hang up or put the call on hold, then try dialing or texting your loved one at his/her own number to verify. Or try other relatives to see if they have heard anything and can corroborate the story you’re hearing.
- Scammers often ask for funds to be wired, but they also may ask for money to be sent in other unusual ways. That is a red flag. One California man who fell victim to the grandparent scam was instructed to give cash to an uber driver, who he was told would deliver it to his son’s lawyer. The victim lost $25,000. Others may ask for cryptocurrency or gift cards because they are not traceable.
