Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro issued a warning Wednesday about a surge in sophisticated scam calls using artificial intelligence to clone voices of family members.
The scammers are using voice cloning technology to impersonate relatives, particularly children and grandchildren, creating fake emergencies that pressure victims into sending money immediately. The calls often involve claims of legal trouble or urgent financial needs.
“It’s natural for us to want to protect our loved ones from harm’s way,” Shapiro said. “These scammers exploit our caring qualities for their own monetary gain. The best thing we can do to stop this is to remember to pause, hang up, and call our loved ones directly rather than stay on the line.”
The scammers also “spoof” phone numbers to make calls appear to come from trusted sources, making the deception more convincing.
County officials recommend creating a family “safe word” – a unique phrase not easily found online that family members can use to verify their identity during suspicious calls. Simply asking for the safe word may deter scammers from continuing.
For any urgent call requesting personal information or money, officials advise a three-step response: pause, hang up, and directly call the trusted number to verify the information.
The warning comes as AI technology becomes more accessible and sophisticated, allowing scammers to create increasingly convincing impersonations with minimal voice samples.
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