New York’s Staten Island — A New York school district has warned of a new fraud that uses artificial intelligence to mimic family members’ phone voices.
At least two families were contacted as part of a virtual kidnapping extortion call, the Peekskill Central School District in northern Westchester County informed parents in a letter on January 8.
According to Peekskill Superintendent David Mauricio, the calls are from strangers who say that a relative of theirs has been abducted and demand a ransom.
Although similar frauds have been around for a while, the use of artificial intelligence capabilities to mimic a family member’s voice and make the threat seem more genuine is a recent development.
The letter advises anyone who receives a similar call to try to get in touch with their family member right away and then call the police after the relative has been deemed safe.
According to Mauricio’s letter, these calls are typically made from outside area codes, may involve many phones, and only accept money through wire transfer providers.
The letter also cautions that these scams do not originate from the supposed kidnapping victim’s phone and that callers will do all in their power to keep victims on the phone so they are unable to check in on their loved ones.
+ There are no comments
Add yours