Voice cloning scams are on the rise, warns Starling Bank

Starling Bank, one of the largest UK banks, recently issued a warning against voice cloning scams. The bank warned that the scams are seeing a sharp rise, and could be set to catch millions out, according to its research.

Voice Cloning Scams Targeted 28% Of UK Adults

Voice cloning scam is a type of scam where fraudsters use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to replicate voices — typically the voice of a friend or family member of their targets. They then convince the target to send money or provide sensitive information to the fraudster. 

Starling’s study found that as many as 28% of UK adults have been targeted by an AI lconing scam at least once in the previous year. The bank further added that the scammers are now capable of using voice cloning technology to replicate someone’s voice from only three seconds of audio.

Anyone who has ever uploaded a video or audio file of themselves to social media can have their voice copied and used against their friends and family, the bank warned. From there on, it is fairly simple for scam artists to identify the person’s family members and use the clone voice to fake a phone call, voice message, or voicemail to the victim.

They would typically say that they need money urgently, and provide the victim with a way to send it to the scammer, rather than the actual friend or family member. Starling’s survey says that 1 in 10 questioned individuals admitted that they would send whatever was asked of them in such a situation, even if they thought that the call seemed strange.

Only around 30% of study participants said they would be able to confidently know what to look out for when being targeted by the voice cloning scam. 

How To Protect Yourself And Your Friends/Family From This Scam?

In an attempt to help people protect themselves from this type of scam, Starling launched its Safe Phrases campaign, in support of the government’s other anti-fraud campaign known as Stop! Think Fraud. 

Starling encouraged the public to come up with a Safe Phrase with their close friends and family, suggesting a phrase that no one else would know. That way, they would be able to verify whether the person they are speaking to is truly who they say they are.

The bank’s chief information security officer, Lisa Grahame, stated that people regularly post content online with recordings of their voice. They typically never imagine that doing so could make them more vulnerable to scams. 

“Simply having a Safe Phrase in place with trusted friends and family – which you never share digitally – is a quick and easy way to ensure you can verify who is on the other end of the phone,” Grahame argued.