Scammer calls the 'right' victim - listen to the moment they knew they messed up
ILLUSTRATION - 10 March 2021, North Rhine-Westphalia, Essen: An elderly lady takes a phone call in her home. Con artists have adapted to the Corona pandemic and are taking advantage of the elderlys fear. They offer alleged Corona vaccinations for at
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - "Scam Likely." You may have seen that flash across your caller ID once or twice. A potential scammer found out what happens when you get the ‘right’ victim who knows exactly how to handle the situation.
A call came in to Scottsdale, Arizona. The man who picked up the phone was immediately barraged with an emotional story and a plea for financial help from his "grandson." Except, it wasn't really his grandson, and the man who answered the call knew that.
That caller was attempting what is known as an "impostor scam." It's when a fraudster impersonates someone their victim trusts, like a family member. They will create a story in which they're in trouble and need help, then beg the victim to send them money right away.
The problem was Sgt. Vince Lewis of the Scottsdale Police Department is the one who received the call. He said he immediately recognized the ruse, so he grabbed a pen and paper and started to record. He posted the hilarious encounter to the department's social media.
Scammer accidentally calls Scottsdale police sergeant
Recently, artificial intelligence (AI) voice-cloning scams have been on the rise. The Federal Trade Commission has warned criminals are learning how to clone people's voices using the things they post on social media in order to trick others with these fake, distressing phone calls.
A few months ago, FOX Business spoke with Scott Hermann, the founder of financial and identity protection company IdentityIQ. He said those criminals only need to swipe a 20-second clip of someone speaking in order to make their voice say virtually anything they want it to.
"This is, without hesitation, the scariest thing I have ever seen," Hermann said.
While Hermann, the FTC and Sgt. Lewis recognize that the criminal practice is extremely harmful, they also want people to know how they can protect themselves so they don't fall victim to it.
How to protect yourself from an AI voice-cloning scam
Sgt. Lewis said there are a few red flags that should alert you to whether a call is fraudulent:
- The caller doesn't identify him or herself
- The caller attempts to instill panic and create a sense of urgency
- The caller asks to keep the exchange a secret, or not to get law enforcement involved
The FTC says a sure-fire way to know whether the person calling is who they claim to be is by quickly hanging up and calling a number that you know to belong to that person.