Latest news with #AIscam
CBC
14-05-2025
- CBC
'Definitely my son's voice': Manitoba woman targeted by AI phone scam
Social Sharing A Manitoba woman is speaking up after receiving a phone call she said was an AI scam that used a loved one's voice. Leann Friesen, a mother of three from the small southern Manitoba community of Miami, got a phone call a couple of weeks ago from a private number. Although the person on the other end of the call sounded like her son, the conversation was odd, she said. "He said, 'Hi mom,' and I said hi. He said, 'Mom, can I tell you anything?' and I said yes. He said, 'Without judgment?'" said Friesen. "I'm getting a little bit confused at that point — like, why are you asking me this?" Friesen said the call was giving her an uneasy feeling, so she told the caller she'd call him back on his cellphone and hung up. "I immediately called my son, and I woke him out of his sleep, because he works shift work. He said, 'Mom, I didn't call you.' But it was definitely my son's voice that was on the other end of the line." Using artificial intelligence to scam someone over the phone is a new approach by fraudsters, with criminals using AI software to make themselves sound like their victims' loved ones. The scammers can use short clips of a person's voice found online to re-create a person's voice in a scam call, according to police. Friesen isn't the only person being targeted. The member of the legislative assembly for Burrows, Diljeet Brar, said his voice was used recently in an attempt to scam one of his constituents. "[The constituent] said, 'It was your voice.' He has talked to me many times. In the community I meet those seniors often, and he said [it was] the exact same voice." Brar said the caller asked the constituent for $5,000, but the person targeted caught on before transferring any money. The MLA said he is speaking up so people are more aware of AI scams. "I was concerned about the seniors who don't know much about the latest technology. They don't use technology, they don't know how AI works. And I thought about how vulnerable they are," he said. "It was shocking." Targeted 'spear phishing': investigator Keith Elliott is a certified fraud examiner, and the CEO of Reed Research Investigations, a professional investigation firm based in Toronto. He said this type of scam is a spin on a common one known as the "grandparent scam," which typically involves someone calling the victim and posing as a grandchild in legal trouble, saying they need cash in order to be released from police custody. "The current trend right now is leveraging AI to facilitate different levels of that scam to use voices that are familiar to the parties," said Elliott, describing it as a type of "phishing" scam. "It's a little more elaborate — it's what we would refer to as 'spear phishing,' because it's very targeted at a specific person." Elliott said he teaches techniques to verify whether a caller on the phone is who they claim to be. He suggests calling the person back on a number you trust, or baiting them with false information. "Say, 'Oh, have you talked to your sister lately?' And the individual will be, like, 'No, I haven't had a chance to talk to her.' I don't even have a sister, so you know it's a fraud," said Elliott. "That person's going to feed you the answer, so you have to feed them a lie that you know is going to bait them the opposite way." Elliott also said if something seems off, trust your instincts. AI fraud attempts and cyber crimes can be reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
I thought Bondi Vet Chris Brown was in love with me and showering me with texts and calls. I'm devastated to learn I was catfished by AI
A UK pensioner has been conned out of her life savings after falling for an AI scam that TV's Bondi Vet was in love with her but needed cash after being kidnapped. Lisa Nock, 44, from Staffordshire, was browsing Instagram in 2022 when a fake account posing as Dr Chris Brown bombarded her with direct messages. Ms Nock admits she was lonely and vulnerable at the time at the time after losing her partner in a car crash, and had been left disabled in another traffic accident. But the avid animal lover said her life changed and she was delighted when the TV star said he wanted to meet her in England. 'I was chuffed that Chris Brown had messaged me, I'm a huge fan and hoped this might be our chance to meet,' Ms Knock told the Daily Telegraph. The surprise messages began a chain of correspondence that spanned two-and-a-half year, but the scammers soon told her Dr Brown needed money to visit her. They moved the conversation to WhatsApp and continued to groom her, using artificial intelligence to convince her she was in a romantic relationship with him. 'After a few months, I admit I was enamoured. He told me he loved me and wanted us to marry – of course I said no, and asked if it was a scam,' Ms Nock said. She tried calling the Whatsapp number, but her attempts were blocked. Scammers then used a sophisticated AI program to call Ms Nock via encrypted messaging app Telegram. AI Chris Brown said he hoped the call had cleared her doubts. The conmen also used AI image generators to create 'photos' of the TV doctor and shared them with Ms Nock, a volunteer English and drama teacher. She lives of just $1246 each month from her UK pensions, two thirds of which she pays to her parents in rent. The remaining $400 however ended up being sent to the cruel scammers each month for almost three years. Ms Nock sent the money through gift cards, Bitcoin and Crypto information. 'I was vulnerable and wanted to believe we could be friends, we both love animals, I had lost my partner in a car crash a few years ago,' she said. Ms Nock finally realised it was all fake when the conmen posed as Dr Brown's 'management' team and told her he had been kidnapped, before demanding $40million. Ms Nock has now reported the scam to British police. She also wanted Dr Brown to know people were using his likeness to defraud innocent members of the public. The 44-year-old is now paying off a 'big' credit card debt and suffers depression. She insists she was 'no fool', but fell for the ingenuity of AI and does not want anyone to repeat her mistake. Ms Nock first appeared on Catfished Podcast to say the ordeal left her feeling like she'd been 'groomed'. 'And all of a sudden when it's dropped a bombshell on you, you just lose that trust in anybody and it can be hard to hold down a relationship once you've been traumatised in that way,' she said. 'That will live with me forever.' Dr Brown previously posted on social media to warn the public scammers have been pretending to be him on the internet. 'I'm sorry I even have to say this,' he posted in November 2024. 'But just to be clear, I don't have any other private chat accounts, pages or other special accounts. 'Nor any Telegrams or chat rooms where I have offline conversations. 'Sadly, all of these are just scammers. And not even good ones, the way they assume I talk is a little embarrassing. And trust me, I don't have the time! 'I'd rather be talking pets than scammers but enough is enough.' Dr Brown is one of Australia's most internationally renowned TV figures.
