Voice impersonation scams are on the rise and can be quite frightening. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is making it easier and cheaper for scammers to mimic voices convincing people that their loved ones are in distress. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), impostor scams were the second most popular type of scam in 2022, accounting for more the 36,000 reports. 

Most of the imposter scams work the same way. The scammer impersonates someone trustworthy like a child, lover or good friend. The scammer then convinces the victim to send money because they are in distress. Regardless of the story (I'm in jail, I was robbed, etc), the scammer will ask for money... immediately.

Below is an example of a voice scam that actually happened in Regina, Saskatchewan.

The man calling Ruth Card sounded just like her grandson Brandon. So when he said he was in jail, with no wallet or cellphone, and needed cash for bail, Card scrambled to do whatever she could to help.
It was definitely this feeling of … fear,” she said. “That we’ve got to help him right now.”
Card, 73, and her husband, Greg Grace, 75, dashed to their bank in Regina, Saskatchewan, and withdrew 3,000 Canadian dollars ($2,207 in U.S. currency), the daily maximum. They hurried to a second branch for more money. But a bank manager pulled them into his office: Another patron had gotten a similar call and learned the eerily accurate voice had been faked, Card recalled the banker saying. The man on the phone probably wasn’t their grandson.
That’s when they realized they’d been duped.
We were sucked in,” Card said in an interview with The Washington Post. “We were convinced that we were talking to Brandon.”

If you receive a call like this, here are four tips to avoid becoming the victim of the scam:

1. Ask the caller a question that both you and the caller would know to validate the caller’s identity. Something like "what month is my birthday" or "what school do you go to"? If there is no response or the wrong response, the caller is an impersonator and simply hang up.
2. If you receive a call, put the call on hold (if you have that feature) and try calling the person directly. Remember that the caller ID can also be spoofed, so don't assume it is a legitimate if the caller ID matches the person's voice.
3. Tell friends and family about this scam, especially older family members that may become victims.
4. Have a secret code word or number that you share with family. If someone is really in distress, ask for the code word or number to verify the legitimacy of the caller.