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Scammers used AI voice cloning technology to impersonate Mark Young's daughter, convincing him over 30 hours that she was kidnapped and extorting $13,000 from him before bank employees and police intervened.
In March 2023, retired police officer Mark Young received a phone call from scammers who used AI voice cloning technology to impersonate his 24-year-old daughter. The perpetrators created a convincing audio replica of his daughter's voice using an unknown recording and AI program that accurately mimicked her speech patterns. Over a 30-hour period, the scammers convinced Young that his daughter had been kidnapped after witnessing a drug transaction, with a man claiming to be a drug dealer threatening to kill her, make her a prostitute, or sell her to sex traders. The AI-generated voice was so convincing that Young could not distinguish it from his actual daughter's voice. The scammers directed Young to withdraw and wire $13,000 from multiple banks and locations across Washington and Idaho, maintaining constant phone contact to prevent him from seeking help. The ordeal ended when Young attempted to withdraw $17,000 at a WaFd Bank branch in Pullman, where alert bank employee Alex Navarro recognized the situation as a scam and contacted Pullman Police. Officer Shane Emerson contacted Young's wife, who confirmed their daughter was safe at home in Spokane. The Federal Trade Commission had begun warning consumers about AI voice cloning scams in 2023, noting that scammers were using this technology to enhance family emergency schemes.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Using AI systems to gain a personal advantage over others such as through cheating, fraud, scams, blackmail or targeted manipulation of beliefs or behavior. Examples include AI-facilitated plagiarism for research or education, impersonating a trusted or fake individual for illegitimate financial benefit, or creating humiliating or sexual imagery.
AI system
Due to a decision or action made by an AI system
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed
