Fraudsters Are Using AI to Impersonate Government Officials
If you receive a text or voice message from someone claiming to be from the U.S. government, they are probably not who they say they are.The FBI is warning the public about an ongoing campaign in which scammers are using AI-generated voice messages to impersonate high-ranking government officials in an attempt to gain access to personal accounts and, as a result, sensitive information or money.
Many of those targeted were other current and former government officials — both federal and state — and their contacts, but that doesn’t mean this scam, or something similar, won’t end up in your inbox or on your phone sooner or later. Here’s how these AI-powered attacks work, and how to avoid becoming a victim.
How AI Scams Work
Current scams can take the form of smishing, which targets individuals via SMS or MMS, or vishing, which uses voice notes. Either way, the attackers send voice messages and/or AI-generated texts that appear to be from high-ranking U.S. government officials. The goal is to gain trust before directing targets to a separate messaging platform via a malicious link, which ultimately results in you entering login credentials or downloading malware to your device. The scammers can also use the collected information to target additional contacts, continuing the campaign.
These scams are somewhat believable thanks to voice cloning and generative AI tools that make it easy for anyone to impersonate public figures . Attackers can also spoof phone numbers to make messages in smishing schemes appear to be from family, friends, or trusted individuals.
How to spot fake vishing messages
While AI-generated speech can be convincing, there are ways to identify these messages as fake . Listen for pronunciation and tempo that sound off, as well as the presence (or absence) of emotion and variation in the speaker’s voice — for example, AI tends to sound a little flatter and have less inflection than a real person, and you may notice strange pauses.
Of course, you should be wary of any messages—voice or otherwise—from anyone claiming to represent an organization, including a government agency, especially if they send unwanted links, ask for money or personal information, or create a sense of urgency.
If you receive a message that sounds legitimate, verify the identity of the caller by looking up official contact information and calling back, or hang up and contact them directly if it’s someone you know. You should always confirm any request to send money or provide information yourself, and never click on links or download attachments sent via email or text message. The FBI also suggests choosing a secret word or phrase with your close contacts that you can use to verify their identity using AI.