DETROIT – The threat of AI scams is ever-growing, which is why Help Me Hank consumer investigator teamed up with Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to run a test and alert people to how easy it is to get scammed.
In Nessel’s office, two men positioned themselves behind their laptops to pull off a phone scam. Except, they aren’t high-tech thieves – they’re attorneys in the Attorney General’s office, performing an experiment under her guidance.
The trio placed calls to Nessel’s loved ones and coworkers, using an AI-generated voice that replicated the Attorney General herself. The Nessel audio deepfake said that she was stranded in Washington D.C. after having her belongings stolen and that she needed money urgently. Many – including her most knowledgeable investigators and trusted donors -- believed that Nessel was speaking to them, even as she sat soundless in her office.
“I think that the AI impersonation of me is virtually indistinguishable, even to people who talk to me every single day,” Nessel said. “That’s how good it is. It’s really easy for people who aren’t familiar with what the scam is to fall victim to it.”
Seniors are more likely to fall for these types of phone scams, but everyone is at risk of having their own voice used against their loved ones. Last year, it was estimated that Americans lost $1 billion in AI-related scams. More than 60% of iPhone users have been targeted.
The audio deepfake was created by compiling different clips of Nessel from online sources. Matt Loria, a security expert with the IT provider Auxiom, believes that generative AI is the biggest problem in scams today. Thieves capture people’s voices through spam phone calls or Facebook videos to generate an AI replica.
“Twenty seconds is a treasure trove of time of your voice,” Loria said. “They can basically mimic your voice, your cry, your laugh, everything.”
Nessel is worried about this growing threat.
“Even if people are sort of familiar with these scams and they say, ‘Well I’m not going to trust a stranger,’ maybe they will trust a friend, a family member a loved one,” Nessel said. “Somebody who, again, it’s their voice, they recognize it, they really think it’s them.”
Someone who works in the Attorney General’s office and fell for the prank truly believed that he was talking to Nessel, despite some initial misgivings.
“It was close,” the employee said. “The tone of her [real] voice is a little different because she has a different timbre to her voice so it was a little flatter than that but it was close enough.”
Close enough is the problem, especially when seniors are the target of the grandparent scam, or if AI versions of political leaders call for donations. There are still ways to stay safe, though. For one, if you don’t recognize the number, don’t answer the call. We recommend setting up a family password to use in case of a distress call to make sure that it truly is your loved one on the other end of the line. You can also call the person back to make sure that the call is coming from them. Take the time to talk to seniors in your life about these high-tech threats. And finally, don’t react immediately. Take a moment to breathe and to see if the scenario presented seems plausible. Scammers prey on emotions and hope you’ll react impulsively.
“This is a scam for everybody because it doesn’t matter who you are – it doesn’t matter your age, it doesn’t matter your mental acuity, you could still fall victim to this,” Nessel said. “It’s that clever, it’s that sophisticated. That’s why people really have to know how to respond.”
The Attorney General also wants laws that will hold these scammers accountable, letting them know that their crimes have very serious consequences.