It was probably ten years ago that my husband’s mother was caught up in a telephone scam on her land line at a time when she was unable to verify the number calling her. The voice started out innocently enough identifying itself as “her favorite grandson.” Never mind the fact that she actually had five grandsons. The voice needed bail money to be released on charges of driving on an expired license, and the voice didn’t want grandma telling his mom and dad. Well, we found out about the scheme only after Grandma had wired money to her alleged grandson from a local chain store.
And then there are those emails or texts that could be spotted for their not so clear English, strange looking logos from a person’s bank of account or other more obvious tells. Well, hold onto your phones, because with Artificial Intelligence (AI) the voices just became clones, and the English has been cleaned up. Now, the person will actually sound exactly like your grandson, and the money can be wired or simply sent via Zelle. So, how do you protect yourself and your money from “perfect strangers” versus what once were very imperfect imposters.
The security companies are documenting the effectiveness of voice scams. McAfee reports that some software voice-clones require only about three seconds of recorded voices to create a fabricated voice that is 85% true to the original voice. Having your voice in any kind of on-line post is a lot like telling everyone where you keep the backup key to your front door. (It’s in the planter by the front door.)
You don’t have to be smarter than the AI to avoid being scammed. You just need to confirm who is or is not on the call.
- Our family has a “safe word” that all the kids know so that they can either provide it if asked or ask for it if they are approached. It can be your first puppy’s name…
- Call another family member who can identify where the caller is or simply hang up and call back directly on the caller’s line.
- If the call is for bail money, follow-through with a separate call to the local police department…don’t use a number they may try to provide you.
- If the call is from your bank, PayPal, your security company or the IRS, just hang up and call them directly.
- Don’t click on any links in any written solicitation you may receive.
Here are a couple help lines that you can access here, or if you’ve been paying attention, you will go to their web sites to retrieve the hotlines yourself:
- Identity Theft Resource Center hotline: 888.400.5530
- AARP Fraud Watch Network hotline: 877.908.3360.
Charlotte Bishop is an Aging Life Care Advisor, Geriatric Care Manager and founder of, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. She also is the co-author of How Do I Know You? A Caregiver’s Lifesaver for Dealing with Dementia.
