How robot voice impersonators are coming for your bank accounts and are already scamming thousands every day

Voice-activated ID was meant to be a foolproof way of accessing bank accounts and other private information. Not any more, says Mark Hollingsworth, who reveals how AI is duping people into handing over thousands by using new voice tech which can take on anyone’s persona

As more customers use voice activated ID - the more AI is using it to hack systems containing private information (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

When the CEO of a UK-based energy company took the phone call, the voice sounded familiar if unusually impatient. It was his boss in Germany, and he had an urgent request. He wanted the CEO to send $243,000 (£191,000) to a Hungarian supplier as soon as possible by wire transfer. “It is urgent,” he said. The CEO was assured of reimbursement.

After the money was transferred, it was forwarded to an account in Mexico and then to other locations. But the money was never reimbursed and so when the CEO received two more calls asking for extra payments, he was suspicious, and the extra transfers were never made.

In fact, the caller was not his boss but voice-generated artificial intelligence software programmed to mimic his voice and so facilitate the bank transfer. It was a scam, and the money was never traced nor recovered.