AI ‘voice cloning’ scams are on the rise. Here’s how to protect yourself
AI ‘voice cloning’ scams are on the rise. Here’s how to protect yourself
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/29/tech/ai-voice-cloning-scams-protect-yourself
Publish Date: 2026-05-29 05:00:00
Source Domain: www.cnn.com
Summary
- A California mother says she lost thousands of dollars to scammers who she believe used AI to clone her daughter’s voice.
- Experts say AI voice replicas have become so realistic that most people cannot reliably distinguish them from real human voices.
- People can protect themselves by establishing a secret code word with loved ones and verifying urgent calls through other means.
AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.
New York —
A California mom says she was scammed out of thousands of dollars this month after receiving a call that sounded like her daughter in distress. She now suspects it was an artificial intelligence-generated hoax.
She’s one of many who have been targeted by so-called “voice cloning” scams as AI tools allow anyone to create a convincing replica of someone’s voice with only a few seconds of real audio.
Americans lost more than $893 million to AI-related scams last year, including voice cloning attacks along with AI-generated phishing emails, romance scams and other hoaxes, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Scammers can mimic anyone from family members and friends to coworkers or professional services workers. Banks including the United Kingdom’s Starling and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia have warned customers to watch out for voice cloning scams.
Experts say AI voice replicas have gotten so realistic that most people can no longer reliably distinguish them from real human voices.
“For the everyday person, it is just not fair to expect them to be able to spot this…
