As artificial intelligence tools continue to advance, AI-generated voice scams are also becoming difficult to identify. Cybercriminals are using AI to copy the voices of people related or known to their targets. A recent post on X has highlighted how convincing such scams can be, prompting Zoho Chief Scientist Sridhar Vembu to suggest a simple safety measure for families.
An X user with the handle @Abomination81 shared an experience in which they received a phone call from someone who sounded exactly like their wife. The caller reportedly claimed that she had forgotten her wallet and needed a credit card to pay for gas. However, there was one major problem. The user’s wife was actually at home with him at the time.
Here’s What Happened
Describing the incident on X, the user said the caller’s voice sounded almost similar to his wife’s, although there were some unusual differences in the way the person spoke. “Just had the creepiest scam ever happen 20 minutes ago. I got a call from my wife telling me she forgot her wallet and needed the credit card to pay for her gas. Except my wife was at home with me, and drives a Tesla. Same voice, bit… off, weird cadence but 100% sounded just like her. If she wasn’t there, and it wasn’t about gas I would have fallen for it.”
He added, “I entertained it for awhile to get more out of it, I was so confused. Must be some sort of voice deepfake. The responses were too fast for ai, I think it was a voice filter. I wish I had thought to record it. The future is about to get fucked. Warn your loved ones, do verbal passwords with your kids. Bit taken aback.”
The user said they continued the conversation to understand what was happening but suspected that the caller was using some form of voice deepfake or voice-filtering technology.
Sridhar Vembu Suggests ‘Verbal Passwords’
The post was reshared by Sridhar Vembu, Chief Scientist at Zoho, who warned that AI-generated voices could make it harder for people to distinguish between genuine calls and scams. Vembu suggested that families and close friends agree on a private verbal password that can be used to verify a caller’s identity. “It is a good idea to come up with “verbal passwords” for close friends and family, so that we don’t fall for these very convincing deep fake calls like the one mentioned below. Sadly, AI is so advanced that we cannot tell real from fake easily anymore.”
A pre-agreed verbal password can act as an additional identity check when someone receives an unexpected call from a family member asking for money, card details or other sensitive information. For example, family members could agree on a word or phrase that would be difficult for an outsider to guess. If a caller fails to provide the agreed phrase, the person receiving the call could end the conversation and contact the family member directly using a known phone number.