An older woman sits at her desk sipping her morning coffee while reading the day’s newspaper. The ringing of her phone chimes in cadence with the ticks of the grandfather clock behind her, and she is thrilled to see that her grandson is calling. She answers the phone to hear a sobbing cry for help that blasts through her phone. She expresses a full-body reaction to hearing frantic screaming from her traumatized grandson, who says that he has been kidnapped. The kidnapper takes the phone away from the wailing child, demanding money in exchange for her grandson’s return. She shakily gives the kidnapper her bank information without a second thought. Wouldn’t you do the same? Everyone would agree that their grandchild’s life is absolutely priceless; hence, they would pay any amount of money to ensure their safety.
But this story doesn’t end with an emotional reunion, but with a confusing conversation between the grandmother and grandson, who claims that he had never been put up for ransom and was instead enjoying a peaceful morning on the couch.
What had just occurred is an example of an AI voice cloning scam. It is a newer and more believable form of a family emergency scam, which aims to exploit a victim’s emotional weaknesses, leading them to give extreme amounts of money, often leaving the victim without any time to think.
Such cybercrimes are becoming more and more believable every year, especially with the progression of AI. And let’s face it: who is more vulnerable to AI-generated lies than a senior who is technologically inexperienced.
AI voice cloning – created by inputting audio of a family member’s voice into an AI synthesizing tool, making the fake voice sound identical to a real human voice – is only the latest form of scams that target seniors. Before AI was introduced into the fraudster space, common scams were simpler in theory but required a lengthier process. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, many would pose as employees of respected companies (e.g., a bank or tech service) through a robocall, working to build a trusted customer service relationship. Victims would confidently provide them with sensitive information, like their Social Security Numbers or full remote access to their computers. Scammers played on naivety and false trust, with some going as far as gradually building an online romantic relationship to eventually request large sums of money from their loyal internet partners.
Luckily for fraudsters, AI is making their job much more leisurely while still preserving the quality of their cybercrimes. This has resulted in a more effective technique for choosing their victims. The managing director of Nomorobo.com, an award-winning call blocker, Matt Mizenko, explains that picking the perfect victim is as easy as asking Chat GPT. After asking it to scour the dark web for people who meet specific qualifications, the AI “comes back with information on those people – name, address, phone number, employer.” This means that even seniors who are aware of the common tactics used by scammers are now likely to believe the caller because the scammer already knows their private information.
The number of seniors who lose large amounts of money rises in accordance with the advancements of AI. The Internet Crime Complaint Center reported 105,301 scam victims over 60 in 2020, whereas 201,266 senior complaints were made in 2025. It also reported a striking increase of nearly 7 billion dollars in total losses made by seniors within five years. The level that AI has improved within those years explains clearly what the cause of the massive increase in successful fraud is. Seniors have always been the main target for scams, especially now, because most are unaware of the full capabilities of new technology.
At first, it may be hard to educate a loved one about these malicious tactics, but it is unfortunately something that they need to be cautious of. Let them know that voice-cloning and deepfakes are possible, and that they should be aware of the warning signs that they may be getting scammed. These scams are often so convincing that even a youth aware of the products of AI-generation could be tricked, so it is important to remember that in the event of a family member or friend asking for money out of the blue, you must be skeptical, even if the worried or crying voice sounds identical to the real person. You can respond by asking the caller personal questions and giving yourself time to think rationally about the situation. Or you could simply call them back on their trusted number, or try to reach out through another family member or friend.
What is most important in all forms of scams is to be open and honest about possible frauds, because family members can always provide valuable insight into what is trustworthy or not. It is also extremely useful to report to the Federal Trade Commission if you are a victim of or have suspicion of a fraud, scam, or bad business practices. Another option is to call the National Elder Fraud Hotline (833–FRAUD–11 or 833–372–8311) if you or someone you know has been a victim of elder fraud. Many victims of scams are embarrassed that they lost money because they believed lies, so they keep it a secret and attempt to rebuild their financial debt on their own. But what they don’t realize is that they have the power to stop fraud from happening to others, potentially more vulnerable people.
The next time that your elderly family member innocently shows you something that was clearly AI-generated, remember that AI has far more harmful capabilities than producing videos of cats dancing. A scammer could be using your voice right now to convince your most trusting relative that you are being held for ransom. Please call and warn that relative now, so that they will not only preserve their bank account, but also protect their emotional well-being.