With AI, Fraud Takes a New Turn

The voice on the other end of the line is very familiar: “Good day. This is Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States.”

But then comes a not-so-presidential message: You have just won an $18.5 million prize from something called “American Cash Award.” All you need to do to claim your prize is call a phone number and pay a small portion of the taxes on your award by purchasing gift cards.

Welcome to the next generation of scam calls—powered by artificial intelligence.

“The technology is here, and it’s going to get better,” says Doug Shadel, a fraud consultant and author of the AARP book Outsmarting the Scam Artists. 

As the keynote speaker at AARP New Jersey’s Fraud Summit—scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 9—Shadel will play the AI-generated recording of Biden’s voice and describe other scenarios in which new technology is making criminals increasingly convincing and manipulative. The summit will be held at The Imperia in Somerset.

Shadel says it’s not clear how successful the AI-generated Biden scam has been. But a thief can make an AI-generated impersonation from just 15 seconds of a voice recording. “It’s going to happen more and more,” he says.

Fraud a Growing Problem

The Federal Trade Commission issued a warning earlier this year about criminals finding audio clips online to clone voices of people’s relatives. “When the scammer calls you, he’ll sound just like your loved one,” the FTC alert says. “Don’t trust the voice.” The agency advises people to contact their loved one using a phone number they know.

Impostor schemes were the second-highest category of all types of fraud in 2022, according to FTC data. Nationwide, there were some 2.5 million incidents of fraud representing $9 billion reported last year. The most common contact methods for reported fraud were by text (22 percent) and phone (20 percent), according to the FTC. 

New Jersey ranked 10th in the nation per capita for fraud and other complaints in 2022, up from 13th place the previous year.

Kathy Stokes, director of AARP’s Fraud Prevention Programs, says criminals devise schemes aimed at getting people into “a heightened emotional state”—whether it’s elation that they just won a cash prize or fear their grandchild is in danger. Shadel agrees and advises people not to react immediately.

Elizabeth Ard, a 66-year-old aesthetician from Warren, says she never imagined she would be a fraud victim. But last year, she was having computer trouble, so she Googled “Geek Squad” and called the first number she saw.

The man who answered told her a technician from Best Buy’s technical support service would come to her house to repair the computer. But first she would have to buy $200 worth of gift cards. Ordinarily that would have been a red flag, but she was distracted because of issues with the care of her 93-year-old mother.

She sent a photo of the gift cards, but the supposed repairmen stopped answering her calls. When she called Best Buy, staffers told her no reputable retailer would ever ask for gift cards. “They get you at a vulnerable point,” Ard says. 

In addition to the fraud summit, AARP New Jersey holds Facebook Live chats on how to protect yourself and your loved ones from fraud. Volunteers Christine Braccino and Carmen Falcon, co-leaders of the AARP New Jersey fraud team, host the events, which feature speakers from agencies like the FTC and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  

Find information about the fraud summit at aarp.org/nj. Learn more about fraud at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.  

Cristina Rouvalis is a writer living in Pennsylvania.

More on Technology and Fraud:

• How to Scrub Personal Information from Electronic Devices
• Chatbots and Voice-Cloning Fuel Rise in AI-Powered Scams