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Here's how I used AI to clone a 60 Minutes correspondent's voice to trick a colleague into handing over her passport number. I cloned Sharyn's voice then manipulated the caller ID to show Sharyn's name with a spoofing tool. The hack took 5 minutes total for me to steal the info.
How to stay safe?
- Make sure your folks know that caller ID is easily faked. Voices can also now be impersonated.
- If they receive a dire call from "you", verify it's really you w/ another method of communication (text, DM, FT, call, etc) before action (like sending money).
The victims of these impersonation scam calls often realize it's not real JUST AFTER wiring the money to the attacker because they wait to text, call, email, or DM the person being impersonated — then hear back from the impersonated person that they're safe after money is gone 😢
Some suggest setting up a secret "verification word" w/ their loved ones so that if someone impersonates & demands money/access etc you can ask for the verification word to see if it's a real crisis. This won't work for all people but could work for some. If it's a match, use it.
In general, I recommend keeping advice simple: if premise of call is dire use a 2nd method of communication to confirm a person is in trouble before taking action (like wiring money or sensitive data). Rapid text, email, DM, have others message repeatedly — before wiring money.
Bottom line: Scammers use urgency & fear to convince victims to take actions (like sending money, data, etc).
If premise of a call, text, email, or DM is too dire (or too good to be true), that's a likely scam.
Use a 2nd method of communication to check it's real before action!
Reminder: raising awareness of this hacking method isn't "giving the criminal ideas". Criminals are smart! It's their job to be good at tricking people. They already use this method in the wild and this video is teaching folks how to spot & shut it down.