Artificial intelligence (AI) I has gotten so good, so quickly, it's honestly a little bit scary.
What's even scarier is that scammers are using it in new and creative ways to take your money.
One of the newer scams out there is called AI voice cloning.
Imagine this: Your adult child or another relative calls you. They were traveling in a foreign country and got arrested. Now, they need a lot of money immediately to get help.
Your inclination may be to help them as quickly as you can, but it's a scam. Even though the voice on the other end of the phone sounds exactly like the person, it's a scammer who has cloned their voice, including their accent, pauses and mannerisms. In reality, the person is perfectly safe and does not need any help at all.
This has actually happened. Voice cloning technology is getting less expensive, allowing more scammers to use it for evil, according to NordVPN, a computer security firm.
Other voice cloning scams include instances where a "person" from a credit card company may call regarding a payment. In another case, a couple lost a $66,000 down payment on a condo to a voice clone scam that sounded exactly like their mortgage banker.
How do you tell if it's a real emergency or a voice clone scam? Here are a few ways you can protect yourself.
If the situation seems to involve a family member, put the person calling on hold and call another relative or someone who would definitely know what's going on. If they don't know or aren't sure, call someone else.
In addition, your family should have a "safe" word that everyone knows to use. As a backup, ask the person for information that is not available online, such as trivia about themselves that only the two of you would know. This could be the name and type of a pet, where they went to elementary school, a memory you both share or where they were last Saturday morning.
If the situation involves your bank, credit card, mortgage or other financial institution, hang up and call the person back on a number that you know is valid. Use the customer service number on the back of your card, or call the customer service line for your bank.
Voice cloning is real and it's easy to get caught up in. Be careful when the person on the other line pressures you to act quickly, says not to tell anyone what's happening, or asks you to pay in cash, gift cards or use a payment app. We hope you never, ever get caught up in a scam, and we'll keep you updated on new scams as we learn more about them. Remember to trust your gut and always double-check things before sending money to anyone.
Stay safe out there, from your friends at CommonWealth One!