ATLANTA — Criminals are employing artificial intelligence to generate highly convincing fake phone calls, cloning voices and faking caller IDs to impersonate trusted institutions and individuals.
This advanced scamming technique has led to significant financial losses, with more than 22,000 AI scam complaints filed last year and reported losses approaching $893 million, according to the FBI.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Scammers are leveraging artificial intelligence to impersonate entities such as banks, law enforcement and even family members, making these fraudulent calls appear legitimate.
The sophisticated nature of these calls makes them more dangerous than traditional spam calls, according to Channel 2 Consumer Adviser Clark Howard.
Howard emphasized the ease with which these fake voices can be created.
“We did a test of my voice. I’ve said eight words, and we, from those eight words, were able to create what seemed to be me saying anything that we wanted to,” Howard said.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Woman shot, killed by ex ran through convenience story to try to get away
- Woman says Camelot condo demolition leaves her homeless, destroyed belongings
- Atlanta Watershed issues boil water advisory impacting nearly 48,000 customers
Howard advises consumers to never answer calls from unknown numbers. If an unexpected call comes in regarding finances, he recommends hanging up immediately and not attempting to resolve the issue over the phone.
“If I get a call saying there’s a problem with my account, I say, ‘Thank you very much. I’ll check into it, goodbye,’” Howard said.
Instead of engaging with the caller, individuals should directly contact the company or institution in question to verify any issues. Howard cautioned against any engagement.
“I would not engage at all because you never know what trouble you’re inviting into your life,” Howard said.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2026 Cox Media Group
