The nature of online scams is getting creative as the technology is thriving. Some users must have gotten scam calls on WhatsApp claiming to be their child who has lost their phone. These types of scam calls were easy to Identify and users would often dismiss them. But now scammers are cloning voices to scam users that perfectly resemble one of the family members or friends. 28% of adults in the UK have reported getting high-tech voice scamming calls this year.
46% of the adults do not even know that voice cloning is possible so they often become the victims of scams where the scammers often demand money in a disguise of someone they know. Starling Bank did a survey of 3000 people and found that scammers can make almost the same voice of a family or friend from only three seconds of audio.
The survey showed that 8% of respondents said that they would immediately send however much money is needed if they heard the distressed voice of their loved ones even if they found the call to be strange. Only 30% know what to watch for in a voice cloning scam. The rest? Vulnerable. Starling Bank says that people shouldn't blindly trust any phone call with their loved one’s voices and should establish a code word or phrase with them so they know that they are talking with the real person. A Safe Phrases campaign has been launched in this regard.
If a person gets a call from an unknown number claiming to be their family or friend, they can ask them for the phrase and verify if the person is actually someone they know or just someone cloning the voices of them. Amidst this scam, financial frauds have been in rise in Wales and England and have jumped to 46% in 2023. An average UK adult has been scammed five times financially in the last five years.
It is very important for people to be aware of all types of scams so they can avoid any possible loss. Actor James Nesbitt launched the campaign by having his own voice cloned AI to let people know how easy it is to clone someone’s voice. People have their voices on all types of social media and it is quite easy for criminals to get their hands on them. Setting a safe phrase with your friends and family is a good way to keep yourselves away from scams.
Image: DIW-Aigen
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46% of the adults do not even know that voice cloning is possible so they often become the victims of scams where the scammers often demand money in a disguise of someone they know. Starling Bank did a survey of 3000 people and found that scammers can make almost the same voice of a family or friend from only three seconds of audio.
The survey showed that 8% of respondents said that they would immediately send however much money is needed if they heard the distressed voice of their loved ones even if they found the call to be strange. Only 30% know what to watch for in a voice cloning scam. The rest? Vulnerable. Starling Bank says that people shouldn't blindly trust any phone call with their loved one’s voices and should establish a code word or phrase with them so they know that they are talking with the real person. A Safe Phrases campaign has been launched in this regard.
If a person gets a call from an unknown number claiming to be their family or friend, they can ask them for the phrase and verify if the person is actually someone they know or just someone cloning the voices of them. Amidst this scam, financial frauds have been in rise in Wales and England and have jumped to 46% in 2023. An average UK adult has been scammed five times financially in the last five years.
It is very important for people to be aware of all types of scams so they can avoid any possible loss. Actor James Nesbitt launched the campaign by having his own voice cloned AI to let people know how easy it is to clone someone’s voice. People have their voices on all types of social media and it is quite easy for criminals to get their hands on them. Setting a safe phrase with your friends and family is a good way to keep yourselves away from scams.
Image: DIW-Aigen
Read next:
• Data Center Surge: USA Tops Global List with 5,388 Centers, AI Adoption Fuels Growth
• New Survey Shows What Companies Think of AI Adoption and the Challenges They Are Facing
