Desperate scammers are now cloning the voices of relatives in attempt to swindle money from unsuspecting victims, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is warning consumers to be prepared. The offenders can use audio clips taken from online to not only impersonate the loved one’s voice but also the words and phrases to create a realistic conversation.
When these scammers call, the conversation may lead to requests for money through hard to trace assets such as cryptocurrency, gift cards, and wire transfers. Elderly citizens have recently been particularly target with many instances in Canada as reported by CBC news.
The advancement AI voice synthesis tool, ElevenLabs provides is seen as a increasing threat. It is now more accessible and easier than ever to use even with little technical expertise, giving scammers the ability to clone someone’s voice as long as they have samples of it, which is easily obtained from common sources such as social media.
Fortunately, the FTC recommends the best protection against these scams is to reach out to the supposed relative by using a number familiars know. Kambhampati, a professor of computer science at Arizona State University and an expert in AI highlighted how in the past it used to take “sophisticated operation” to conduct these scams but now “small-time crooks” can get away with it.
ElevenLabs is a Canadian online AI tool provider based in Vancouver, founded in 2016 by experienced engineers and developers. It is developed to provide robust tools for the public and is continuously working to improve user experience and quality. The company is committed to the ethical use of AI and has won many awards for its services and products.
Subbaro Kambhampati is a professor of computer science at Arizona State University with considerable knowledge and experience in the subject of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Apart from teaching, he has made significant contributions to AI research and has achieved a number of awards. He also serves as an associate editor at the ACM Transactions on Intelligent Systems and Technology. His expertise in AI software is instrumental in providing insight on the implementation of voice cloning scams.
Voice cloning scams are a legitimate threat to consumers, especially those who are more susceptible to its effects such as the elderly. Consumers must stay vigilant and be cautious if a call from a relatives seem suspicious, reached out to the relative in other ways for confirmation. Using an online AI tool such as ElevenLabs for voice cloning should also be done responsibly and ethically.
