I know some stuff, and I know a lot of that stuff to be true.
Conversely, a lot of the stuff I "know", or have heard and read, isn't true...or might not be. I mean, do we really know what we know, or what we think we know? Who knows what we know and don't know?
People like to think they know a lot and, certainly, many people like to think that the stuff they know that they tell others is simply believed and accepted by those others; I guess it gives them a sense of relevance, power, intelligence, wisdom or whatever it is their ego needs or lacks. Most people probably fall into that category, or have at some stage. Humans be human right?
Anyway, I cannot recall where I heard it, but not too long ago I was told that phone scammers who often call and keep people talking record what's being said by the person they've called and then use that greasy cunt AI to piece together a voice that sounds like their victim then use that person's voice in nefarious ways. I don't know if it's true, *but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's true because scammers are cunts and AI is a fucken cunt too. Maybe one of y'all can confirm, with evidence, that it is indeed a real thing.
I guess the scammers seek to have that "voice" to construct dialogues to use as bait to capture people the original phone-victim knows to entice them into transferring money to their scam accounts. It sounds quite plausible to me especially considering how heavily we rely on our phones and the interwebs to communicate between friends and family and with those who provide us a service like banks, utility companies, governments and so on. Once someone is hacked the floodgates open and that voice could be a critical factor in convincing that the scammer is, indeed, you.
I don't know if you know it's true but if you've heard of this scenario happening, or think you know it's true and want to make a comment then go ahead. Maybe you've been phone-scammed by a Nigerian Prince like my Aunt did, or by some other thundercunt who wanted to take advantage of your vulnerability. Feel free to get involved in the comments section below if you'd like.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
[Original and AI free]
Image(s) in this post are my own
I confess that the new era we are just beginning to enter will be one of the most challenging we will face in terms of security.
I cannot imagine how many people will suffer at the hands of these bastards who will once again use technology to take advantage of others by stealing from them. It has always been this way, and now it will be even worse.
I have already warned my mother that if she receives a text message or even a voice call from someone with a voice that sounds EXACTLY like mine, asking her to transfer money or call a new number I have, she should never do so.
Many fears and suspicions will arise. I believe that we will know less and less whether we are right, or whether, on the other hand, we have been tricked by someone else into thinking that we were!
It's ridiculous that we have to be so careful but really, it's a problem we created for ourselves by seeking to automate things, make them easier and relying on digital methods of doing things.
Unfortunately, it's the elderly who often suffer the most as they just don't know what look for, but it's not just them of course.
Humans really can be garbage and it seems preying on the weak is something humans do well.
In a way, I can see the positive side of my mother not being very tech-savvy. Just to give you an example, she doesn't have a smartphone, nor does she use a computer. She is someone who, despite having a college degree, never needed to use a computer in her professional life. And although it pains me that she doesn't know how to use WhatsApp or anything like that, which would allow us to exchange text messages, audio or video calls, I see the advantage of her not being exposed to that potential gateway. Human beings can be the worst kind of trash, but I believe in and know some who are true treasures. I am a person who likes to believe in the potential of humanity. It's not easy. I think there will always be a bright side to the bad... a bit like in the movie "Life Is Beautiful".
Happened to an old lady that i interact with often.
Her "son" called and told her that he needed money, because he crashed his car, and is now in the hospital, and if he doesn't fix things quick, he will go to jail.
And the voice answered "It is because i have a broken nose" when questioned about the voice not sounding like her son.
I had to talk her down. She was thinking how she could raid her retirement account, or any other way to raise the money needed. So, i told her all the inconsistencies i heard in the story. Until later, when the son got off his flight and could return her call.
So, yes it is true.
Yeah, I thought it was a real thing; I wonder how many have been caught out.
I work in the cybersecurity field and this happens indeed.
There are a few cases where attackers used the voice or even video of CEO's to trick employees into payments. Google on "ai ceo fraud" and find these cases.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/04/asia/deepfake-cfo-scam-hong-kong-intl-hnk
But these are spear phishing attempts.
I've also been seeing Whatsapp family impersonation scams grow. I haven't received one myself, but there are many known cases where people received messages from 'their kid' claiming to have a new phone number. Then they come up with a story and ask for money.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/may/04/hi-mum-whatsapp-text-scam-parents-friends-bank
I can't imagine how, but there are quite some people that are tricked by these scams.
But these scams can get more realistic when the attackers have your kids voice. And attackers only need about one minute of voice to be able to reproduce it.
And kids often share anything online nowadays.
It is really terrible, but we have to deal with it.
Step one is always verify! Contact them with another method (phone, other app, mail) to verify that it is really the one you think it is.
Another way is to have a 'secret word'. We have shared one with our family. It works two ways. When my kids or wife calls and I do not trust it, I can ask them for 'the word'. And they can do the same.
I've read and seen news reports of such things before. It seems mostly that it happens to older people, but even some younger people fell for it too. It's probably not to hard nowadays for them to do such a thing. Most people have their Farcebook profiles public and advertise who they are related to. It wouldn't be a stretch for them to record that small bit of conversation and then look you up on FB and call up a parent or grandparent to scam them with an AI generated version of your voice telling them your in trouble and need money wired. Personally people that do that need to be taken out and shot IMO.
I can see it happening, AI can be trained on everything, you can train them to write like you, to reproduce a face, etc so I can imagine reproducing a voice, then they will just call you with that voice and use it to deceive like asking money because on jail or something like that they already do...
I can tell you last week my sister in law got scammed by a phone call because they can actually make the call look like coming from a specific number (example the number of your bank or the police office) so you don't smell the scam until they ask random bank transfers