Voice changing AI making 'grandparent' scam calls more realistic

Your grandson has been arrested and needs money for bail.

Your granddaughter has been in a car accident and the hospital needs money for her bills.

The details of the script might be different, but Sgt. Kevin Talbot of the Lethbridge Police Service in southern Alberta says grandparent scams follow a familiar template.

"Anything where they need money and they need money fast in order to get themselves out of trouble," he said.

But what if it sounded exactly like that grandchild on the other end of the call? That happened to some Lethbridge residents who fell victim recently.

Police warn that scam callers are using artificial intelligence software to sound like their victims' loved ones. 

Social media gives fraudsters the raw materials to make their ruse more realistic, says David Maze of Lethbridge Polytechnic.

"They only need about a three-second clip to have the system be able then to recreate that voice and then create whatever they want that voice to say," said Maze, who is an instructor in the polytechnic's school of justice. 

Last week, the police service arrested and charged two men for allegedly collecting and distributing funds related to the case.

They say AI and the internet provide a buffer that makes it difficult to identify those behind the calls. 

"They could be anywhere in the world," said Talbot. 

Social media means more calculated calls

Traditionally, grandparent scams cast a wide net by phoning many people and hoping someone falls victim to the ploy, according to Talbot.

Now, the process is more calculated.

He says they use social media to gather information about people's lives, and use that to target their family members. 

This information and the ability to make their voice sound like a victim's loved one has made it even easier to create the sense of urgency that's vital to the scam's success.

"Victims are being convinced quicker and don't bother doing any followup because it sounds just like their grandchild," said Talbot. 

Cyber crime in general is becoming more realistic using AI.

"Just like any other new technology or something new that comes along, we get organized crime or crime groups to take advantage of it very quickly," said Maze.

He says that on the dark web — parts of the Internet that require special software to access, offering users more anonymity — people can get tools like FraudGPT. It's a language modelling AI tool used to create more realistic fraudulent emails.

"It's making it harder for people to discern about what is actually truthful and what isn't truthful," said Maze.

Co-operation needed to curb cyber crime

Voice changing software makes it hard to identify the person making the calls, but that isn't the only reason dealing with this type of crime is difficult for law enforcement. 

Maze works on research projects related to AI and virtual reality.

He says the training and tools needed to combat cyber crime are expensive and resource-intensive. The technology also changes at such a fast pace, it's hard for law enforcement to keep up.

Talbot says the best tool they have is following the money. 

He says in the Lethbridge case, online fraudsters posted an ad looking for local accomplices to pick up the payment on their behalf, keep a cut for themselves, and then deliver the rest. 

The men charged are alleged to have responded to the ad.

Talbot says the victim contacted the Lethbridge Police Service sometime after delivering money to the men.

When the local men returned — allegedly to pick up a second payment — investigators were able to arrest both individuals.

Using local people as couriers adds another buffer between callers and the victims.

"They're given either a bank account number or a crypto currency wallet address to send it to.… They don't even know who they're sending it to," said Talbot. 

Maze says it's easier than ever to move money around the world, and cyber crime isn't limited by geography.

"So you may have a telemarketing phone room in Toronto, but in actual fact they are targeting people in the southeastern United States," he said. 

Talbot says the international nature of these crimes means there needs to be co-operation to address it.

"It really, really requires law enforcement from all over the world to be a part of it, to share information and to investigate these things together."

Prevention is the best cure, police say

Experts and law enforcement say the best way to combat this is for people to not fall victim. 

They advise not to give personal information to strangers and check with family and friends to confirm an emergency is legitimate.

"I know in one instance where a fraud was mitigated because the person hung up the phone, phoned their son and said, 'Hey, is is Johnny in jail?' And he went, 'he's standing right next to me. He's not in jail,'" Maze said.

The men charged in Lethbridge are scheduled to appear in court in October.