Scammers use AI to clone voices, fake kidnapping attempts in US: report

But a recent case from America’s Arizona is being discussed a lot where ‘kidnapping’ was exposed as a scam. In the scam – which included a $1 million ransom demand, a 911 call and a frantic hunting attempt – artificial intelligence was used, reported CNN,

The incident took place on January 20 at around 4.55 pm, when Arizona resident Jennifer DeStefano’s phone rang from an unknown number. At first, she thought she wouldn’t pick it up, but after thinking about her 15-year-old daughter, Brianna — away training for a ski race — she picked it up.

DeStefano was then greeted by shouting and booing. “Mom! I messed up!” CNN Quoted a girl’s voice in a screaming voice. When DiStefano asked what happened, she said, “I heard a man say, ‘Lie down, put your head back.’ I thought he was being thrown down the mountain, which is common in skiing. So I started to panic.”

The cries for help continued in the background and then a deep male voice began relaying commands: “Listen here. I have your daughter. You call the police, you call whoever, I’m gonna pop him full of some drugs. I’m going to have my way with him and then drop him off in Mexico, and you’ll never see him again.”

DeStefano froze upon hearing this. She then ran to the dance studio, trembling and screaming for help. However, later he came to know that it was a scam.

Last year, Americans lost $2.6 billion to fraudulent scams, according to Federal Trade Commission data.

Siobhan Johnson, FBI special agent and spokeswoman in Chicago, said families in the US lose an average of $11,000 in each fake-kidnapping scam.

In March, the Federal Trade Commission warned that scammers could obtain audio clips from victims’ social media posts.