AI voice cloning scam: three rules before you send money

For anyone with parents, grandparents or relatives abroad, and anyone who sends money over WhatsApp or by phone.

By the end you will know how the scam works, the three checks to run before you pay, the payment requests that should stop you cold, and a family plan to agree on this week.

The checks below come from the US Federal Trade Commission's consumer advice on family emergency scams. The FTC is a US agency, so where I add my own advice for a family in Morocco I say so.

How the scam works

A scammer clones the voice of someone you love and calls you. The call sounds urgent: an accident, an arrest, a hospital bill. The FTC explains that the scammer needs only a short audio clip of the person's voice, which can come from something posted online, plus a voice-cloning program.

The FTC's warning is direct: do not trust the voice.

Rule 1: stop and cut the call

Do not act under pressure. Hang up, or tell the caller you will call back. The urgency is part of the script.

Rule 2: call back on a number you already know

Contact the person who supposedly called you using a phone number you know is theirs, not the number that just called you. Ask whether they are really in trouble.

If hanging up feels uncomfortable, the FTC suggests asking a question only the real person could answer. Its example is "What kind of dog do you have?" Choose a question that cannot be found on their social media.

Rule 3: check with someone else, even if you were told to keep it secret

Contact another family member or a friend of the person. Scammers often ask you to keep the call secret. That request is itself a warning sign.

Payment requests that should stop you

The FTC lists payment methods that are hard to reverse. Treat any request to send money in these ways as a red flag:

• Wire transfers.
• Cryptocurrency.
• Gift cards, where the caller asks you to read out the card numbers and PINs.

If you already sent money

Act quickly, because the sooner you act the better. Contact your bank or the transfer service at once and report the scam. The FTC takes reports at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If you are in Morocco, ask your bank how to report and contact the authorities where you live.

A family plan for this week (my advice, not the FTC's)

Sit down for ten minutes with the people you would send money to in an emergency and agree on:

1. One rule: nobody sends money after a phone call alone. Everyone calls back first.
2. A private question for each relative, with an answer that is not on social media.
3. A second contact for each person: one other relative who can confirm they are fine.
4. A habit: be careful with public videos and voice notes. A short clip is enough to copy a voice, so limit who can see them.
5. A message to send now in your family group:

Family rule: if any of us calls asking for money, nobody sends anything before calling back on the usual number and asking the private question. This is on purpose. Please confirm you read this.

What to say to an older relative

Keep it short and calm. Copy this:

If someone calls and sounds like me asking for money, hang up and call me back. If I do not answer, call [name of the second contact]. I will never ask you to pay with gift cards or crypto.

Replace the text in brackets with the real name.

My honest take

You cannot tell a cloned voice from a real one by listening, so the habit is the defence. A thirty second call back costs nothing, and the family that agrees on it before the call comes is the one that does not get caught.