GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOD) — The Better Business Bureau is warning about a scam that uses artificial intelligence to imitate people’s voices in fake phone calls.
It’s a classic scam: People receive phone calls from someone impersonating a loved one, claiming they have an emergency.
“They’re in a car accident, they’re in the hospital, they’ve been arrested or something like that, and the bottom line is they’re asking for something. They’re usually asking for money.” said Katie Graves, marketing and community relations manager for the Better Business Bureau in West Michigan.
Now the traditional scheme has got a new twist as AI continues to evolve.
Scammers can use something as simple as recording your voice or a loved one’s voice if you post on social media apps, if you have videos of yourself, or if you answer a phone call and say a few words. Can be removed from the object. , they can take your voice and manipulate it to say whatever they want to say,” Grevious said.
Using AI makes it harder and harder to determine if the person you’re talking to is actually the same person.
“They want you to think with your heart instead of your head and be the victim of that emotion, and be the victim of wanting to help your loved ones,” Graves said.
These types of scams are causing some serious concern. During his recent State of the Union address, President Biden considered some of the uses of AI.
“Ban AI voice impersonation and more,” Biden said.
Fortunately, there are a few ways to protect yourself from becoming a victim.
“As hard as it sounds in these situations, you need to take a step back, take a deep breath, and really think about what’s going on,” Grevious said.
There are also some red flags that usually stick out when you might be the victim of a scam.
“A lot of times, we’ll see fraudsters posing as loved ones and wire transfer money, buying gift cards because these are undetectable methods, and once that money is gone, you can’t use it,” Grevious said. Can’t go back,” Gravious said.
He said that by taking small preventive measures, big headaches can be avoided.
“You can call your grandkids’ parents, you can call a friend and you can call a neighbor and tell them what’s going on and the conversation you just had, because if you are emotionally invested, so they can see red flags,” Greaves said.
In February, the FCC Announcement That robocalls made with AI voice cloning technology are illegal.