Susie Wiles catfish texted contacts asking for cash and pardons

Telegraph

3 days ago

A catfish posing as Susie Wiles, Donald Trump's chief of staff, texted and called her contacts asking for cash and presidential pardons, it has been reported.
Ms Wiles, who is considered the most powerful woman in the White House, has privately told colleagues her personal cell phone was hacked and mined for executive contacts.
The FBI has launched an investigation following the breach.
The impostor is said to have sent a series of text messages and phone calls to Republican lawmakers using Artificial Intelligence to mimic her voice, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In one case, the impersonator is said to have asked for a cash transfer and in another, asked a lawmaker to put together a list of people who could be pardoned by Donald Trump.
'The White House takes the cybersecurity of all staff very seriously, and this matter continues to be investigated,' a White House spokeswoman said.
'The FBI takes all threats against the president, his staff, and our cybersecurity with the utmost seriousness,' Kash Patel, the FBI director, said in a statement.
'Safeguarding our administration officials' ability to securely communicate to accomplish the president's mission is a top priority.'
'Malicious voice messaging campaign'
Earlier this month, the FBI warned of 'an ongoing malicious text and voice messaging campaign' where actors have impersonated senior US officials to target individuals.
'The malicious actors have sent text messages and AI-generated voice messages — techniques known as smishing and vishing, respectively — that claim to come from a senior US official in an effort to establish rapport before gaining access to personal accounts,' a warning by the bureau read in May.
The White House has struggled with information security. A hacker who breached the communications service used by Mike Waltz, the former national security adviser, earlier this month intercepted messages from a broad swathe of American officials.
And late last year, a White House official said the US believed that an alleged sweeping Chinese cyber espionage campaign known as Salt Typhoon targeted and recorded telephone calls of 'very senior' American political figures.
Ms Wiles has reportedly been targeted by hackers at least once before, in the final months of Mr Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.
At the time, hackers alleged by US authorities to be acting on behalf of Iran approached journalists and a political operative with a variety of messages sent to and from Ms Wiles, some of which were eventually published.