US EditionWhy Fake AI Calls Impersonating US Officials Are ‘the New Normal’
HUBEI PROVINCE, CHINA, JUL 10 – Scammers used AI to clone a grandson's voice and trick an elderly woman into sending 20,000 yuan, police said, highlighting a growing fraud method targeting families.
- In recent weeks, artificial intelligence has been used to impersonate two top U.S. government officials—the Secretary of State and the White House chief of staff—through fabricated voice and text communications aimed at government contacts.
- These impersonations followed a surge in AI-driven voice scams, which have increased by 1,300% over the past year amid widely accessible voice cloning tools requiring under 15 seconds of audio.
- The impersonation attempts included calls to foreign ministers, senators, and governors using cloned voices to extract sensitive information, prompting Rubio to refer the matter to the FBI and the State Department's diplomatic security.
- Experts warn that 77% of victims in surveys lost money, and 70% cannot distinguish AI clones from real voices, with Senator Mike Rounds calling it an "ongoing battle" requiring better AI detection and urgent action from lawmakers and tech platforms.
- Despite an FCC ruling that outlawed AI-generated robocalls last year, federal regulators appear unlikely to impose new AI regulations soon as lawmakers unsuccessfully sought to block state AI rules, suggesting synthetic audio abuse will remain a significant challenge.
23 Articles
23 Articles
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'Nefarious efforts': Melania‑linked scam strikes Congress
Capitol Hill is reportedly once again under siege by sophisticated impersonation scams targeting lawmakers and their staff.In June, an individual posing as House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford (R-AR) reached out via Telegram to at least two members of Congress — Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) and former Rep. George Santos (R-NY), the Washington Post reported Saturday. The impersonator claimed involvement in a “project” with First Lady …
Why fake AI calls impersonating US officials are ‘the new normal’
Two of the most senior figures in the US government — Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the White House chief of staff — have been impersonated in recent weeks using artificial intelligence — a tactic that harnesses a rapidly developing technology that cybersecurity experts say is becoming the “new normal” in terms of cheap and easy scams targeting senior US officials.
AI voice scams | What the Tech?
AI voice scams | What the Tech?Scammers are pulling audio from social media videos and using AI to pull off some of the most convincing phone scams we've ever seen. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WHAT THE TECH?) — It sounds like your daughter. She’s crying, saying she’s in trouble and needs money right away – but it isn’t her. The voice? Generated using AI, with just 10 seconds of audio. Scammers are pulling audio from social media videos and using AI to pu…
Colorado Springs Gazette
Colorado PoliticsMarco Rubio deepfake scam underscores the ‘explosion’ of AI voice impersonation
A series of AI-generated attempts to mimic Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s voice has experts and lawmakers pushing for more safeguards against the rise of synthetic audio threats. Officials are on high alert after an impostor, using AI to replicate…
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