It is now not only phone numbers being spoofed.
While it is commonly accepted advice not to pick up unknown callers, it appears doing so is now becoming more critical as your voice, through AI software, can be synthesised duping friends and family members…
Likewise placing video on social media where the video contains about 30 seconds of voice, this can also be used by scammers to impersonate the person who voice is available publically.
An article from the USA that describes what is happening ‘out there.’
Scammers play on our fears and other motivations, the more compelling the reason the greater their power.
Fortunately if Margot Robbie ever calls asking me to book and pay in advance for a discrete night out together, I already have her number, and ask mum if I’m allowed to go out. She always pays her own way. 
/h
More seriously.
Between YouTube, FaceBook etc … many of us have public facing profiles that make it easier for the dots to be joined. Especially when data leaks can back up with other details that can provide an address or mobile number. No need to loose financial account info, dob, or DL nos etc for the data lost to be useful, and hence valuable.
What about that video professionally made at a friends wedding, loved ones funeral, sporting year end event etc. How well is it secured by the producer, and how many copies of that clumsy reply one made are now out there alongside your name and other relatable content.
Something else to worry about if you or a well known friend’s device/PC is ever hacked.
The greater our public identity the more likely some scammer is going to get lucky and join the dots.
The US ‘enjoys’ countless businesses offering virtually 100% of your information for a very modest fee. It is acquired from myriad public sources and consolidated. What is shown from them for free usually includes ‘people you have associated with’ such a partners, children, parent, and so on who once lived at the same address, your historical addresses, sometimes even vehicles you have owned, credit scores, bankruptcies, judgements, ad nauseam. My profile shows my daughter who has not lived with me for 25 years nor I even in the US, as well as ‘my’ links to her extended family.
Anyone with some time and inclination can cobble together a fairly convincing ‘family scam’ in that environment.
This was also demonstrated on 4 Corners the other night i.e. a voice sample + generative AI = your voice saying things that you have never said (where someone types in the text that is to be voiced).
Well now, thats a bit of a step up from scam texts. Its a real worry, I have friends who are vulnerable and who ignore my warnings…
It’s a good idea to set up a safe word or phrase with family members, which you can ask them to repeat if you think it’s not them.
Those who fall victim must be convinced at the time and have no doubts it is their family member they are talking to. Doubtless the scammers have strategies to maximise the stress, and minimise the chat.
Is it likely only those of us who can respond in a more controlled way would ask or say something the scammer does not know the answer to?
Several years ago a Professor at ANU stated that he believed AI to be a greater threat to humanity than nuclear weapons. The same sentiment has been echoed recently and it appears to be well grounded particularly as it’s now evolved, in the wrong hands and uncontrolled noting of course that governments and businesses are as vulnerable as the people.
It’ll be a race to see who can pull off the biggest scam using AI and if it’s your Super account that takes the hit how will you prove it wasn’t you that authorised the total withdrawal of all funds? We can look forward to a world in which we have no idea who the email or phone call we receive is actually from and no way of knowing the real from the fake. Sadly it’s no longer science fiction, now it’s just science.
We can look upon whatever the outcome will be knowing that we let it be done to us because we missed the opportunity to master the genie before we let it out of the bottle. Social media anyone? Social media with autonomous AI integration…even better.
Have you received a suspicious phone call that sounded like someone you know that you think might’ve been a scam?
Australians are being warned to look out for AI voice scams, with cybersecurity experts saying they’re one of the big scams to beware of this year. Criminals carrying out the scheme use AI tools to copy someone’s voice and then impersonate them over the phone. They’ve been reported to contact friends and loved ones of the person they’re impersonating, with a story about needing money following an emergency. Like the “Hi mum” scam, but over phone instead of text.
While there haven’t been any official reports of this scam targeting people in Australia yet, we’re interested to see if anyone’s encountered one. Have you received a suspicious call that you think might’ve been this scam? Let us know
Haven’t had that kind of scam (impersonating someone we know).
Have had two AI calls from pleasant sounding female on behalf of charities. Usually a person will stop talking if you speak over them, but the Bot just keeps reeling through the script, takes note of what you said and stops abruptly and starts the answer. That may be one way of distinguishing human from bot.
Thank you for advising choice members of the possible rise of yet another scam.
My wife, daughter and myself have more than a fair amount of our voices digitised in an array of different mediums including tv and radio advertising, podcasts, lectures, youtube videos, etc, etc.
We saw that the rise of the use of AI in these fields and were just waiting for the inevitable scambagger to take the “hi mum” just the next step further.
In consultation with all our immediate family, we have a “challenge and reply” protocol whereby a secret question is asked by the first family member that only the immediate family will know, then another question is immediately asked by the second member to the first person as a challenge, again only immediate family will know the answer to this second question.
This way both sides of the conversation will have confidence in who they are talking to.
To make it work, everyone needs to “read the memo” and have a practise run to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Hope this helps.
Peter
Probably a good idea. Applicable also to the SMS scams.
Yesterday, I got a phone call, from a guy claiming to be from the Commonwealth Bank, I said I am not with the Commonwealth, he immediately hung up. It’s a bit scary as the banks always say we would never text you, we will always ring you, so lots of people are going to get suckered into this.
Welcome to the community, @angela63!
The way to help fight the scammers is for everyone to spread the word. Make sure all your friends and family know how to identify and react to scam attempts.
The first thing to know is that banks and other important services will only call or text you in response to your contacting them first.
If you haven’t contacted your bank about a request / problem, and someone calls claiming to be from that bank, always assume it’s a scam call, even if it happens to be claiming to be from your bank.
Don’t give such callers any information. Just hang up. Even if it really was the bank, they were doing the wrong thing by cold-calling, and can’t penalise you for that.
If you get a call, text, or email that seems to be from your bank, do not click any links or call any phone numbers given in that message. Go to the bank’s app or to its website via a browser, and either log in or confirm the real phone number and call that.
If there actually is something important that the bank needs you to know or do, you will always be able to get that information by logging on to the bank’s app or website, or by phoning the bank on its published phone number.
The same applies to government services such as MyGov and CentreLink.
That’s not correct, I have personal experience of my bank texting and then calling me about a fraudulent transaction on my credit card which had just happened and I had not called them.
But they would never ask for Pin or Password or confidential details.
Our bank is the same. A recent example, with the issuing of a replacement card, they texted us the first time the replacement card was used. The text advised it was used, and if wasn’t us, to contact them immediately.
Yes, I should have been more specific!
If someone who says they’re from your bank contacts you without your contacting that bank first,
@Gaby, what did you do to make sure it was really your bank texting and calling? Some scammers have become very good at imitating what the real bank would do and say, especially if they already have some of your details, such as full name and address; and caller ID names or numbers can be spoofed. 
I strongly recommend that everyone configure their bank account to notify about every transaction, using ‘push’ notification to the bank’s app on your phone. Most banks should be able to do this, and notifications that come via the app are pretty sure to be genuine.
If you check the notifications as they arrive, you’ll have a good chance of spotting a fraudulent one as soon as it happens.
Last week I went to withdraw money from an ATM . The transaction failed on three ATMS . Next day I received 2 text messages advising me to phone a 1800 number . I did as requested . It was to the Commonwealth Bank . Apparently one of the chips had failed in my card . The card would still let me tap out but was not recognised by ATMS . From what I was told the cards have 2 chips on them .
The Com Bank is sending me out a new card .
