ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Police said a number of St. Louis County residents have fallen victim to a frightening new artificial intelligence phone scam where the caller sounds "exactly" like their child in distress.
These recent AI-generated phone scams pretend there has been a car crash and someone's son or daughter has hit a person's bumper. The caller then demands money for the damage or they will kidnap their child.
One of our victimized St. Louis County viewers remained anonymous on-camera, still worried what scammers will do if they already have her phone number and daughter's voice.
The call on the night of Feb. 19 terrified her family. She answered the phone to what sounded like her oldest daughter crying after accidentally hitting a man's car. It turned into the man demanding a $2,000 wire transfer at the Walmart in Manchester to an address in Mexico. Otherwise, the daughter would be kidnapped.
"I had a lot of anxiety but was able to think properly," the mother told 5 On Your Side.
She began messaging her other daughter for help while still on the phone with the man. "Call 911," she texted frantically. "Track my cell phone."
"Later I typed 'kidnap.' I didn't have time to think or put my daughter's name or anything," the mother remembered.
"Toward the end, they put my daughter back on the phone. It basically said, 'Mom, do what they say.'"
She said her daughter's voice sounded so real that she never thought it was a scam.
Police and computer engineers seeing more AI generated calls like this, saying it's not as simple as just hanging up the phone.
"That's really easy to say, but that's an emotional moment," said Abby Stylianou, assistant professor with the Department of Computer Science at St. Louis University. "You hear from your child, and you're upset."
But there are some measures you can take to prevent falling victim to this kind of scam call.
"You should talk to your family, and you should have safe words, phrases or questions that you plan to ask if you wind up in this situation," Stylianou said.
Thankfully, two Manchester Police cars arrived at the Walmart before this mother could make the transfer.
"They immediately grabbed my phone and said 'who is this?'" she recalled. "The guy said, 'Who the f--- is this?' (The officer) said, 'This is officer so-and-so. This is a scam.' Then, the individual on the phone said, 'F--- you,' and hung up. I'm like, 'Oh, my God! They have my daughter.'"
Experts said these scams come from AI programs learning and processing information from online videos, meaning anyone who posts to social media like Facebook or Instagram can fall victim.
"You can use about 0-3 seconds of someone's voice and synthesize anything you want that voice to say," said Ning Zhang, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at Washington University in St. Louis.
That's why law enforcement is asking everyone to spread the word so other families are not impacted.
This particular St. Louis County mother was lucky she didn't complete a money transfer. However, we do know of local cases where parents did pay up and are now out thousands of dollars.
AI phone scam warning signs include asking for gift cards or cryptocurrency and pressuring you to act quickly.
What to do if it happens to you
The Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services recommends that if you think you're being scammed or receiving a call of this nature, you should contact the threatened family member directly. Additionally, you should report the call to police and also file a claim with the Missouri Attorney General's Office.
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