AI voice cloning used in virtual kidnapping scam targeting U.S. families
Date: 2023-04
Affected: U.S. families
Attack vector: deepfake
Category: real-world
Severity: High

Multiple U.S. families reported scammers using AI voice cloning to imitate their children's voices in fake kidnapping ransom calls. One Arizona mother (Jennifer DeStefano) received a call with her daughter's cloned voice and a $1M ransom demand.


Mitigations:

Architectural layers (MAESTRO):