The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is warning consumers about scammers calling victims and using technology to trick them into thinking a loved one is in trouble and needs money or gift cards.
Some scammers may target their victims by combining voice clones generated by artificial intelligence and spoofing equipment so that it seems like a call is coming from the victim’s friend or family member.
The Attorney General’s Office is providing the following tips to protect consumers from voice-clone AI scams:
- Beware of any emergency call asking for money to be sent right away.
- Don’t trust the voice or message as voices can be imitated with AI.
- Hang up and call your loved one through a trusted number to verify the call or text.
- Consider establishing a word or phrase that only your loved one would know to verify their identity.
- Beware of high-pressure scare tactics.
- Beware of requests for payments through gift cards, person-to-person pay apps, etc.
If you believe you have been the victim of fraud, you can file a complaint by visiting www.azag.gov/consumer. If you need a complaint form sent to you, contact the Attorney General’s Office in Phoenix at (602) 542-5763, in Tucson at (520) 628-6648, or outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas at (800) 352-8431.