An older woman showed up at her bank in tears. Her grandson had been arrested for hitting a pregnant woman and her child. He was going to go to jail where the police detective warned the grandmother he would get beaten up because he was a child killer. The woman spoke to her grandson when the detective put him on the line. It sounded just like him.<\/p>\n
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Online software companies like Lyrebird offer software that allows the user to duplicate someone’s voice. All it takes is a few seconds of the software listening to a voice file. It can emulate that person’s voice, tone, and speaking habits. Scammers can get the voice files from online videos that are posted publicly or by calling and copying a personalized voicemail message.<\/p>\n
Scammers Do Their Homework<\/strong><\/p>\n Sites like White Pages and My Life make a lot of information available. They give your age, address, phone numbers, emails, and family connections. Add social media profiles that are shared publicly, and scammers can get a lot of information. The profile picture of you on vacation, pictures you were tagged in during a night out, and posts you share publicly rather than to only friends are easy for scammers to access.<\/p>\n With this information, a scammer can build convincing stories. Once it’s known that person A is your daughter and that person B is your mother, there’s the connection the scammer needs. The scammer can call person B to say that person A, who is away at X college, was arrested, charged with a crime, in an accident, or some other reason money must be sent immediately.<\/p>\n