"Save me, Mom" Teen Daughter's Desperate Cry on Phone... AI-Driven 'Voice Phishing'

Voice Cloning Possible with Just a 3-Second Sample

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has even reached voice phishing crimes. AI mimicked a child's voice using the voice from a video posted on social media.

According to the New York Post on the 12th (local time), Jennifer Destefano, a woman living in Arizona, received a mysterious call claiming "Your daughter has been kidnapped." The kidnapper demanded a ransom of $1 million (about 1.3 billion KRW) for her daughter. The call included the screams of her teenage daughter, Briana Destefano.

On the phone, the daughter sobbed in fear, saying, "Mom, I messed everything up." Jennifer knew that her teenage daughter had gone on a ski trip with friends, but she was shocked by her daughter's sudden cries.

The kidnapper then threatened the mother, saying, "Here is your daughter. If you call the police or anyone you know, I will fill your daughter's organs with drugs."

Jennifer described the situation, saying, "Even while talking to the kidnapper, I kept hearing my daughter pleading, 'Mom, save me,' over the phone."

Photo by Getty Images

Taking advantage of the confusion, the kidnapper demanded a ransom of $1 million (about 1.3 billion KRW) from Jennifer but lowered it to $50,000 (about 70 million KRW) after negotiation.

Thanks to the suspicion of a companion present at the time, Jennifer called 911 and spoke with her daughter Briana, who was on the trip, confirming that the kidnapper's call was a voice phishing scam.

Experts warned that advanced voice phishing crimes using AI are expected to increase and urged caution.

Subario Kambampati, a professor at Arizona State University known as an AI and computer science expert, said, "In the past, a sufficiently long sample was needed to replicate a person's voice with AI. Now, it is possible to replicate and alter a voice with just a 3-second sample."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.