Scammers use AI to mimic voices of loved ones in distress
CBSN
Artificial intelligence is making phone scams more sophisticated — and more believable. Scam artists are now using the technology to clone voices, including those of friends and family.
The disturbing trend is adding to mounting losses due to fraud. Americans lost nearly $9 billion to fraud last year alone – an increase of over 150% in just two years, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
The AI scam, which uses computer-generated voice, has left a trail of emotional devastation. Jennifer DeStefano, a mother, recounted during a U.S. Senate meeting her terrifying encounter with scammers who used the voice of her 15-year-old daughter, claiming they had her.
Two Native Hawaiian brothers who were convicted in the 1991 killing of a woman visiting Hawaii allege in a federal lawsuit that local police framed them "under immense pressure to solve the high-profile murder" then botched an investigation last year that would have revealed the real killer using advancements in DNA technology.
In one of his first acts after returning to the Oval Office this week, President Trump tasked federal agencies with developing ways to potentially ease prices for U.S. consumers. But experts warn that his administration's crackdown on immigration could both drive up inflation as well as hurt a range of businesses by shrinking the nation's workforce.
Meta is denying claims circulating on social media that it forced Facebook and Instagram users to follow President Trump's official accounts, saying the changes some users noticed were standard practices tied to the transition of the POTUS account from the previous administration to the incoming one.