Attorney General Ashley Moody issued a consumer alert on Thursday to make Floridians aware of an new, innovative phone scamming technology that recreates familiar voices in an attempt to steal money.
The new voice cloning technology allows people to use near-perfect reproductions of real people’s voices with less than a five-second recording of a person speaking. Scammers could use the technology to pose as the target’s family member or friend asking for money in an emergency.Bad actors may also use the scam to target businesses by acting as a vendor who asks for payment.
“Imagine receiving a call. The voice on the other end of the phone is familiar and is begging for help. Sadly, today, you may not always be able to trust what you hear. We all want to be there for those we love and care about, but with the emergence of new voice cloning technology, Floridians must be more vigilant than ever in watching for imposters and fraud before sharing financial or personal information, Moody said. “This is one of the scariest scams I have heard about since becoming Attorney General and I want to make sure consumers are aware of the ways technology can be used to exploit their good intentions.”
🚨CONSUMER ALERT🚨
New voice cloning technology makes it possible for scammers to pretend to be your loved ones on the phone to extort money.
Be aware of this emerging trick, and follow these tips in the link below to better safeguard your finances:https://t.co/sdEcwV5Ios pic.twitter.com/TygGJqXKZB
— AG Ashley Moody (@AGAshleyMoody) February 20, 2020
The Attorney General’s Office has released several tips to keep Floridians from being taken advantage of by the new technology. Those include never giving out personal information, double-checking the validity of statements from the caller in question, and hanging up and redialing the number.
If you experience a scam, you can report it by calling 1(866) 9NO-SCAM or visiting MyFloridaLegal.com.