AI voice cloning used to trick people in “Hi Mum” scam
Scammers are using AI to replicate the voices of family members in a next level “Hi Mum” scam that is extremely hard to detect. Here’s what to look out for to keep you and your family safe
READING LEVEL: ORANGE
Artificial intelligence* has made it easier to fall victim to the so-called ‘‘Hi Mum’’ scam, with fraudsters now using voice cloning* technology to trick people into thinking they are speaking with their family members over the phone.
The “Hi Mum” scam traditionally relied on text messages being sent by criminals posing as a child or family member in urgent need of money. The message would usually read something like, “Hi Mum, I lost my phone. Message me back. I need your help.”
If the recipient messaged back, the scammer knew their victim had been fooled and would go on to request money or personal information from them that could be used to access their online accounts.
After Australians lost millions of dollars to the scam over the past decade, many developed a better awareness of suspicious text messages and the steps that could be taken to prevent being scammed, like calling the person texting to make sure it is really them.
Advances in AI, however, have made scam awareness much more difficult for the every day Australian.
Westpac head of fraud* prevention Ben Young said scammers could now take a 10-second audio sample of anyone’s voice and replicate* it, using AI software that was readily available online – in some cases for free.
“The ‘Hi Mum’ scam was phenomenally successful even before we had AI, just by texting people and saying, ‘I’ve dropped my phone in the toilet and need a new phone’,” Mr Young said.
“You might find someone whose child has gone overseas or might be in a tight spot where the story is believable.
“Now, you can get a call that might actually sound like that person. You can get a sample of someone’s voice from any number of public places, or even from their own voicemail. It makes the scam very compelling*.”
News Corp’s Scamproof Australia campaign has set out to raise awareness of the rising scam threats the nation is facing.
National Anti-Scam Centre general manager Jayde Richmond said agencies like Scamwatch* and its international counterparts are “certainly concerned” about AI-generated voices being added to the mix.
“We have had some reports of what appears to be voice clone technology being used in business impersonation* scams,” she said.
In such incidents, the scammer may trick workers into transferring money into false accounts by using voice clone technology to impersonate* the boss, Ms Richmond explained.
Perth father Shayne Read said he fell victim to a “Hi Dad” text scam on April 17 despite usually being suspicious of spam messages.
The 66-year-old father-of-one was caught off guard when he saw the following text pop up on his phone:
“Hey dad, just messaging you to let you know my phone slipped into the sink now. It can’t read the SIM, just message me if you get this.”
Mr Read replied to the message, mistakenly believing it was his child.
Minutes later, the scammer followed up, asking him to save a new number, before claiming he was trying to pay for a replacement phone but could not access verification codes* being sent by the bank to his old device.
The scammer then asked whether he could use Mr Read’s credit card to complete the purchase, promising to transfer the money back.
“Okay thanks send just the card no. and I’ll put it through,” the message said.
Mr Read provided his credit card details and proceeded with several transactions before calling his son’s real phone number and realising he had been scammed.
“I am always pretty suspicious with these types of things, but this scam was well done,” Mr Read said.
POLL
GLOSSARY
- Artificial intelligence: AI, technology that enables computer systems to perform tasks that usually require human intelligence, such as understanding language, analysing data, creating content and visual perception
- voice cloning: a technology that uses AI to copy a real person’s voice using audio samples in order to create a new model based on that voice that can be trained to speak anything you prompt it to
- fraud: when someone uses lies and trickery to steal money off another
- replicate: make an exact copy
- compelling: hard to resist, very easy to believe
- Scamwatch: a website run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that aims to provide information to Australians about scams in order to help more people identify and stay safe against scams
- impersonation: the act of pretending to be a different person in order to trick someone
- impersonate: pretending to be someone else
- verification codes: codes sent to your registered device (like your phone) by the bank in order to verify a transaction to protect you against online hackers using your banking details
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QUICK QUIZ
1. Why have so many Australians fallen victim to the “Hi Mum” text scam?
2. What is voice cloning technology and how is it being used by scammers?
3. How do scammers get samples of people’s voices?
4. How can someone check if a text they received really came from a family member?
5. In what way is AI making it more difficult to stay safe from hackers and scammers?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Scammer role play
Work in pairs to conduct a role play.
Student 1 pretends to be the following four people;
A scammer
A family member
A police officer
A bank employee
Student 2, your job is to demonstrate how to respond safely to student 1’s role play through your answers and actions of how to deal with the requests they are making of you. Swap roles with your partner and repeat.
As a class, discuss which responses were the most safe and effective to avoid being scammed.
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Digital Technologies, Ethical, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
2. Extension
What are the emotional effects of being scammed?
How does this make the person feel?
Where can they go for help and support?
Is there a legal repercussion for scammers?
Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Digital Technologies, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
VCOP ACTIVITY
To sum it up
After reading the article, use your comprehension skills to summarise in a maximum of three sentences what the article is about.
Think about:
- What is the main topic or idea?
- What is an important or interesting fact?
- Who was involved (people or places)?
Use your VCOP skills to re-read your summary to make sure it is clear, specific and well punctuated.