Woman Bilked Out of Thousands After Scammers Clone Daughter's Voice with AI
An East Bay mother was scammed after fraudsters used AI to clone her daughter's voice, claiming the daughter had been kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel. This incident is part of a growing trend of AI-enabled scams.
Article intelligence
Key points
- Scammers used AI and deepfake to mimic victim's daughter's voice
- Claimed daughter was kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel
- Victim lost thousands of dollars
- Incidence highlights rising AI-based scams
Why it matters
This matters because scammers used AI and deepfake to mimic victim's daughter's voice.
Technical impact
May affect developer workflows, team collaboration, automation capability, and toolchain choices.
An East Bay mother recently answered a call from an unknown number, which turned out to be scammers using AI and deepfake technology to sound like her daughter, whom they said had been kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel — part of a growing trend of scams.
As ABC 7 reports, Deborah Del Mastro, of Martinez, received a call in May from a man claiming her 37-year-old daughter had been kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel after witnessing illegal activity. The caller then played what Del Mastro believed was her daughter screaming, crying, and pleading for help.