AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Scammers are using artificial intelligence to mimic voices, even the voice of your own child.

It’s a part of a wave of high-tech scams where criminals clone a loved one’s voice and call asking for money.

Scammers are pulling audio from social media videos and using AI to pull off some of the most convincing phone scams we’ve ever seen.

All they need is a short recording of someone talking. Something they can get from a Facebook video, TikTok, or voicemail.

Then AI generates an entire fake phone call that sounds terrifyingly real.

If you get one in the middle of the night, you might fall for it. And many people do.

A survey by McAfee found that one in four people had either experienced or knew someone who had experienced an AI voice cloning scam.

77% of victims reported losing money.

And 70% of people in that survey said they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between their loved one’s voice and an AI clone.

Since the technology is constantly improving, so are the fakes.

That’s why it’s important for your family to have a code word. Something only you and your loved ones know.

If someone calls in a panic, even if it sounds like your child, ask for the code word. If they can’t give it to you, hang up and call them directly.

If you think you’d never be targeted, don’t.

In that survey, one in 10 people said they received one of the calls themselves. And the numbers are rising.

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