Elderly Americans Lose Millions to AI Voice Cloning Grandparent Scams
Incident Details
Summary
In early 2023, a wave of AI-powered voice cloning scams targeting elderly Americans and their families emerged. Using as little as 3 seconds of real voice audio from social media, criminals generated convincing AI clones of victims' family members. They then called elderly relatives claiming emergencies — arrests, car accidents, kidnappings — demanding immediate wire transfers or gift cards. Ruth Card, a grandmother in Canada, sent $3,000 after receiving what she believed was her grandson's voice asking for bail money. Jennifer DeStefano (Arizona) received a call with what sounded exactly like her 15-year-old daughter's voice screaming, followed by a man demanding $1 million ransom. The FTC reported Americans lost $2.6 billion to imposter scams in 2022, with AI voice technology dramatically lowering the barrier to such attacks.
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