29 - The New Frontier of Fraud: AI & Voice Cloning

Scammers are no longer just sending suspicious emails—they’re using Artificial Intelligence to clone the voices of the people you love. In this episode, Daniel and Shanna dive into the "New Frontier of Fraud," explaining how AI can mimic a relative in distress with terrifying accuracy using just a 30-second clip from social media. We break down how voice cloning technology works, why you can no longer trust your "Caller ID," and the psychological traps of urgency and isolation scammers use to make you act in a panic. Tune in to learn how to stay one step ahead of the tech and get a simple, low-tech actionable tip—the "Family Code Word"—to protect your loved ones today.

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Transcript

Daniel Hill 0:02

All right, Shanna. I want you to imagine that your phone rings tonight. You look at the screen, and it's a number you recognize. Maybe it's a close relative or a longtime friend. Well, and of course I'm gonna pick it up immediately. I mean y yeah, naturally you would. And on the other end, you hear their voice. It sounds exactly like them. The tone, the inflections, even the way they breathe. And they sound terrified. They tell you they've been in an accident, they're at a police station, and they need you to send money right now for bail or a tow truck.

Shanna Browning 0:40

Okay, so that's an absolute nightmare, and I'm just sweaty palms, heart racing, thinking about that hypothetical because nobody wants that phone call. I'd be halfway to the bank before the call even ended.

Daniel Hill 0:52

And that's exactly what scammers are counting on. But here's the terrifying twist of the modern era. In this scenario, your relative is actually perfectly fine. They're sitting at home. The voice you heard was an AI-generated clone created from just a 30-second clip of them speaking on a social media video.

Shanna Browning 1:16

It's one thing to get that weird email with bad grammar, but hearing a loved one's voice in distress, that bypasses every logical filter we have. And it's not just a scam at that point. Now it's emotional warfare.

Daniel Hill 1:29

It's a new frontier of fraud, and it's changing the rules of digital safety. Today we're going to talk about how this technology works, why caller ID can't be trusted anymore, and the simple low-tech way that you can protect your family from a high-tech scam. Welcome back to Making Sense of Cents. I'm Daniel Hill.

Shanna Browning 2:04

And hello neighbors, I'm Shanna Browning, and we're going to dive into a topic today that really kind of sounds like science fiction and it's terrifying and scary, but it's very much a reality in everyday lives now. And we're going to talk about AI and voice plumbing.

Daniel Hill 2:21

And you know, as security officer, I've seen fraud evolve from handwritten checks to phishing emails. But can I be honest with you, Shanna, this AI shift is perhaps the most personal and aggressive tactic that we've ever seen.

Shanna Browning 2:40

Yep, I agree.

Daniel Hill 2:41

It's no longer about hacking a computer, it's actually about hacking the human connection.

Shanna Browning 2:48

And that's scary within itself. And we're going to try to break down the red flags of a cloned call. Why scammers use urgency to shut down your critical thinking, and how a simple family code word can be your strongest defense. So, Daniel, you know me. You know me well. We've had conversations about this. I am not techie. So, how is it even possible to clone a voice? Don't you need a recording studio like us sitting here recording this podcast and hours of audio?

Daniel Hill 3:18

Well, you know, that used to be the case. I mean, even as recently as five years ago, you would need massive, massive computing power and a large library of samples. But today, with modern generative AI, a scammer only needs about 30 seconds of audio. They can find that on a public Facebook video, a TikTok, um, even a LinkedIn greeting. You know, honestly, even, you know, even our voices on this podcast.

Shanna Browning 3:51

I know. Um, yeah. So they really don't have to speak to you face to face or even on a phone to get your voice.

Daniel Hill 4:01

No, no. And and that brings us to this point. You know, have you ever posted a happy birthday video or a clip of your kids at a game? You know, your vocal fingerprint, it's out there.

Shanna Browning 4:14

It's so much.

Daniel Hill 4:16

AI, it uh analyzes your pitch, accent, speed of your speech, and the unique way that you pronounce certain vowels. You know, I I've noticed just in our in our recordings, I say the word data, you say the word data, that AI is gonna pick up on that, and it creates a digital model that can then read any script that the scammer types in.

Shanna Browning 4:43

And that's crazy to me. Just crazy. And then they combine that, you take that and they combine it with spoofing. And we've mentioned that before, but will you remind everyone what that looks like on their phone?

Daniel Hill 4:54

So spoofing is where they manipulate the signal so your phone displays a name or number that you trust. They can make it say home or mom or you know, even the name of our bank.

Shanna Browning 5:09

Which just makes me mad. So you see the name of someone that you love or you hear the voice you know, and you told, you're told, hey, there's an emergency. And it's immediately, I'm sure, designed to trigger a biological fight or flight response.

Daniel Hill 5:24

Exactly. And when you're in fight or flight, the logical part of your brain, the part that says, wait, why is my brother calling from a local number if he's on vacation in Mexico? That part of the brain goes dark. And uh the scammer's goal is to keep you in that panic state as long as possible.

Shanna Browning 5:43

I'm sure. And so we always talk about urgency being the biggest red flag, right? Urgency, urgency. But there's also this isolation factor, right?

Daniel Hill 5:52

Yes, scammers will most often always tell you not to hang up the phone. They'll say something like, The police are taking my phone away in 30 seconds, stay on the line with the tow truck driver, or don't tell anyone else yet because it'll just make things worse.

Shanna Browning 6:08

So they're playing to use what they're doing. So they're wanting to prevent you from doing the one thing that would break that spell: hanging up the phone and calling the person directly.

Daniel Hill 6:18

Absolutely. I've seen cases where people stay on the line for two hours, drive to a store to buy gift cards or go to a Bitcoin ATM, all while the scammer is whispering in their ear, keeping them in that bubble of fear.

Shanna Browning 6:33

And I think it's so important for those of you all that are listening to us that if someone tells you that you cannot hang up the phone to verify a story, you can hang up the phone because that's probably a 100% guarantee that that's a scam. Yes, yes. No legitimate law enforcement officer or a hospital staff is going to prevent you from calling a family member back.

Daniel Hill 6:57

That is the best first step. If you get a distressing call, even if it sounds just like them, fight the instinct. I know, hang up, I know, breathe, then call them back on the number you have saved in your contacts, not the number that just called you. You know, and you can always say, hang on, let me, uh I I've got to get gathered together. Let me give you a call right back. Yep. I think that's a great way. Break that connection.

Shanna Browning 7:25

Yep. And if they don't answer, so if I call that number back that I have in my phone and not the number that called me. So if they don't answer, I'm guessing that's when you need to make your next call to their spouse, their roommate, their office, somebody that breaks that isolation. Because the moment you make a section, a second connection, the scammer's power is gone.

Daniel Hill 7:51

That shift from panic back to a place of information is really where your true defense begins. And that need for clear communication is exactly what we see in the questions we've been asked every single day.

Shanna Browning 8:06

It really is that way. And people are starting to see these headlines, and understandably, they're worried. I'm I see the headlines and I we worry about those things. So one of the most common things that we're being asked right now is what are the newest AI-driven scams currently circulating that we need to be watching for?

Daniel Hill 8:26

Well, beyond the one we've talked about, the distress relative scam, we're starting to see executive impersonation. That's where a scammer clones a boss's voice and calls an employee asking them to facilitate an urgent wire transfer for a confidential deal that needs to happen before the end of the day.

Shanna Browning 8:43

And we're also seeing bank rep clones. Someone who sounds professional and helpful, just like your local banker would be, calls to verify a suspicious transaction and then ask for your social security number or a one-time code to fix it.

Daniel Hill 8:58

You know, that's a great reminder. First century bank will never, and I can't stress this enough, will never call you and ask for your password or a code we just sent to your phone. If you get that call, it's a scam. No matter how much it sounds like the neighborly voice from your branch, hang up the phone, call us back at one of our publicly listed numbers that you know, and verify that that's accurate. Do not give any information to that caller. And honestly, if it's legitimate, if it's one of our employees, if it's a relationship banker calling to ask you to verify information, and you tell them, I need to hang up and call you back, believe me, we will understand. That's right. We're gonna be okay with that. Absolutely, 100% of the time. So don't be afraid to take that step.

Shanna Browning 9:50

Yeah.

Daniel Hill 9:50

Um, because we're not ever going to call you and ask for information like that over the phone.

Shanna Browning 9:55

That's correct. And then coming back into that, so another question that we get is sometimes from folks who actually took our advice in season one and said, Well, since my credit is already frozen, what is the next layer of digital protection I should use against these AI threats?

Daniel Hill 10:14

Well, a credit freeze, like we talked about in the last season, that's great for stopping people from opening new accounts. But AI scams are about tricking you into sending money from your existing accounts. The next layer is tightening up your social media privacy.

Shanna Browning 10:33

Which needs, I think, to be talked about more sometimes, right? So if your videos are public, your vocal print, sorry, your vocal fingerprint right now is public. So by making your accounts, Instagram, Facebook, whatever you're using, if you make those accounts private or friends only, you make it much harder for a scammer to find that 30-second clip they need.

Daniel Hill 10:56

Absolutely. And finally, enable multi-factor authentication. That's MFA. Everywhere. Use it on anything you can use it on. If a scammer does manage to trick you into giving up a password, that second layer, the code sent to your phone or generated by an app, is the last line of defense that keeps them out of your actual funds. You know, Shanna, we could talk about this for hours. I mean, this is such a huge topic, but quite frankly, our listeners don't want to hear us for hours on ends. Um, those of you that do, let us know. We'll talk. Um and this has been a really heavy topic. Yeah. But there's a very simple low-tech solution that works every single time, regardless of how good the AI gets. And that brings us to this week's actionable tip.

Shanna Browning 11:52

So Daniel said it, and he's right. It is a heavy topic. It's a lot to take in. But your tip for this week is to establish a family code word.

Daniel Hill 12:04

Sometime this week, maybe at the dinner table or over a quick text thread, choose a word or a short phrase that only your immediate family knows. It should be something random, not a pet's name or a birthday. Something like blue pineapple or hey, Tennessee orange truck or old oak tree. Exactly. I like that last one. Yep. If you ever get a call from a loved one in a supposed emergency asking for money, you simply ask, What's the code word? Ah.

Shanna Browning 12:42

See, I need to do this with my dad for sure. An AI can't guess that. And a scammer won't know it. If they can't give you the word, or then try to dodge the question by saying, I don't know, I'm too stressed to remember that. You know immediately that the person on the other end is a fraud.

Daniel Hill 13:03

Wow. It's a 60-second conversation that can save you heartache, money, and uh it really is a low-tech fix for a high-tech problem.

Shanna Browning 13:16

I like that. Low tech fix for a high-tech problem. All right, Daniel, I'm gonna go home. I kid you not, I'm really gonna do this with my dad and set my family code word tonight because it's such a relief to have a fail-safe just like that.

Daniel Hill 13:30

Well, and I'm gonna ask you next week what your code word is. I'm kidding, I won't I won't do that.

Shanna Browning 13:34

You ask me then.

Daniel Hill 13:36

And uh next week, I think we're gonna lighten things up a little bit with some financial spring cleaning.

Shanna Browning 13:45

Spring.

Daniel Hill 13:46

We're gonna show you how to scrub your bank statement and find that hidden cash leakage from unused subscriptions.

Shanna Browning 13:55

Oh, yeah, there's many of us ready for that. And same for me. I probably have a few free trials that haven't been free for a long time. But you know what's free? Our podcast. You can subscribe now to it for free so you don't miss an episode.

Daniel Hill 14:11

Absolutely. Thanks for joining us and for staying vigilant. Now, go out and make some sense of your cents.