EAST AURORA, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Western New York couple is warning others after scammers used artificial intelligence to clone a family member's voice and steal thousands of dollars from their elderly parents.
The sophisticated scam involved criminals using AI technology to mimic the voice of "Amy," a local woman who didn't want to share her identity. The scammers called Amy's mother-in-law, claiming Amy was in jail for killing someone and needed nearly $10,000 for bond money.
"When I found out, I was devastated, I felt violated," Amy said.
The deception was so convincing that the family paid the money before realizing Amy was never actually in jail. Making matters worse, she said that someone from the local area came to the East Aurora home to collect the cash in person.
"It just makes you feel like they were in your home and they weren't, they were in her home, but it makes you feel like they were in our home too," Amy said.
WATCH: Southtowns couple scammed out of thousands of dollars in sophisticated AI voice cloning scam
AI technology makes scams more convincing
New research reveals that about 80% of people surveyed in a research study were not able to distinguish between real and AI-generated voices when presented with two different audio clips.
Experts believe this technology is being weaponized by criminals to make scams feel more personal, emotional and urgent.
"These AI technologies effectively supercharge existing cybercrime capabilities," lead researcher and UC Berkeley AI & Digital Forensics PhD Student Sarah Barrington said.
"Being able to clone someone who is familiar to that listener's voice and put this out there and make it really convincing, do this at scale for not very much money, it just effectively supercharges the ability to do harm," she explained.
Federal agencies are warning people about these increasingly sophisticated scams.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, scammers often pretend to be law enforcement officers, doctors or even family members. They typically demand secrecy and immediate payment.
How to protect yourself
The scammers create artificial urgency to pressure victims into quick decisions.
"They're just tricking your loved one into paying this, making them feel like there's a timeline, an urgency, to make them go and get the money," Amy explained.
Amy and her husband, who we're calling Jim, said the family filed a police report but say they haven't received updates on the investigation.
The couple hopes sharing their story will prevent others from falling victim to similar scams.
"There are people out there that do not care about you or what you have, they are there to make a life out of what you worked so hard for," Jim explained.
Experts recommend that if a phone call creates panic, hang up immediately. Verify the situation with someone you trust and never send money right away.
