“Voice-Cloning Scam”: US Man Shares Chilling Tale Of How His Parents Almost Paid $30,000

A Florida man shared that his parents were nearly scammed out of $30,000 through a voice-cloning AI scheme. Jay Shooster, who is running for the Florida State House, posted on X about the incident, explaining that scammers used AI to mimic his voice, convincing his parents he had been in a car accident, was arrested for DUI, and needed money for bail.

Mr Shooster described how his father received a call where he heard what sounded like his son asking for $30,000. “But it wasn’t me,” Mr Shooster clarified in his post, calling it an AI scam. He explained that just 15 seconds of his voice from a recent TV appearance had been enough to create a convincing clone. “Fifteen seconds of me talking. More than enough to make a decent AI clone,” he said.

See the post here:

Today, my dad got a phone call no parent ever wants to get. He heard me tell him I was in a serious car accident, injured, and under arrest for a DUI and I needed $30,000 to be bailed out of jail.

But it wasn’t me. There was no accident. It was an AI scam.

— Jay Shooster (@JayShooster) September 28, 2024

Mr Shooster said that the call came just days after he appeared on local TV for his election campaign. “Fifteen seconds of me talking. More than enough to make a decent AI clone,” he said.

Despite previously warning people about these types of scams, Shooster was shocked that his own family almost fell for it.

He urged people to spread awareness and called for stronger AI regulations to prevent such scams.

Mr Shooster also warned about the potential future complications, where people in real emergencies might struggle to prove their identity to loved ones.

“I’ve literally given presentations about this exact sort of scam, posted online about it, and I’ve talked to my family about it, but they still almost fell for it. That’s how effective these scams are. Please spread the word to your friends and family,” he advised.

“A very sad side-effect of this voice-cloning tech is that now people in *real* emergencies will have to prove their identities to their loved ones with passwords etc,” he added.

“Can you imagine your parent doubting whether they’re actually talking to you when you really need help?” he wrote in his post on X.

X users responded to his post, highlighting how common and hard to detect these scams have become, with one user noting it as a form of identity theft. A user wrote, “Probably not a coincidence. And, it is nonetheless identity theft.”

“My dad got a call from my oldest son. He didn’t fall for the scam though because he called him “grandpa” which isn’t what my son calls him. I’m glad he kept his wits about him and was able to realize immediately it was a scam. I’ve talked to my parents repeatedly and I’m so glad they listened,” another user shared.

“These types of AI powered scams are on the rise. We’re all going to need a secret passphrase that identifies we’re real. It’s a shame that the world is coming to this,” the third user wrote.