AI voice cloning allows criminals to imitate someone's voice and falsely accuse family members of demanding money. Here are some simple and important ways to avoid such frauds.

Voice scam by AI

Nowadays, the use of AI has increased so much that its disadvantages are as numerous as its advantages. Everyone often worries about their photos, fearing that they might be misused by AI-edited images. Just as AI technology is rapidly advancing, you might be surprised to learn that your voice can also be misused.

It's worth noting that nowadays, AI tools can copy anyone's voice from just a 3- to 30-second audio clip, whether it's an Instagram Reel, a podcast, or a voice note. This is why fraudulent use of AI voice cloning is rapidly increasing. Let's learn more about what AI can do with just a 3- to 30-second clip of your voice.

What can AI recognize from your voice?

First, it's important to understand that for AI, your voice isn't just spoken words; it also contains your entire identity. Research has shown that AI can copy at least 85 percent of your voice from just three seconds of audio, and even up to 95 percent if it's an expert hacker.

Apart from all this, AI can copy your voice tone, speaking speed, style and even your slight stutter. Now the fraud is not limited to this. You will be surprised to know that now scammers can even imitate your voice and face on video calls and talk as "you", which makes it even more difficult to identify the scammer. This is the reason why a study found that about 69 percent of Indians are unable to differentiate between real and AI generated voices.

After this information, it is important to understand how people can identify that they are being scammed. In such a situation, let us tell you that according to a report, about 83 percent of the people who fell prey to AI voice scam had to suffer financial loss. In most of the cases, the scammers call crying by impersonating a family member, son, daughter or relative and say that they are in some trouble and they need money immediately. In such a situation, the family members get scared and send the money first without asking any questions. The special thing in this is that during the scam, the criminal does not ask for a small amount but asks for a huge amount, due to which the family members feel that their child is really in some big trouble.

Easy ways to avoid voice cloning

In such a situation, the question that comes to everyone's mind is how to protect yourself from it. Experts advise that if you ever receive such a call, meaning someone crying and calling in your child's voice, there's no need to panic; you just need to keep a few simple things in mind. They are:

• The first and most important step is to agree on a secret code word with your family, one that only your family members know. This will help ensure that whenever someone in your family asks for money, instead of getting anxious and nervous, you should ask them for the secret code first.
• Another way is to call your child's real number instead of panicking if a scammer calls you from another number using your child's voice. This can help you determine if your child is truly in trouble.
• Apart from all this, if possible, keep your social media account private so that your voice notes and your original voice are not visible to everyone.

Even if you still fall prey to a scam, you need not panic. Without any delay, you should immediately lodge a complaint on the cybercrime helpline number 1930. Otherwise, you can also lodge a complaint by visiting the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.