Eerie ‘breathing’ mistake to listen out for exposes costly AI ‘audio deepfake’ scam calls that take just seconds to make

LISTEN closely to every phone call you receive: a simple breathing mistake could give it away as an AI fake.

Criminals are exploiting artificial intelligence “deepfakes” that clone a person’s voice with eerie accuracy.

1

All an AI needs is just a few seconds of audio to accurately replicate a voice and have it read a criminal’s script aloud.

When it comes to scams, crooks will typically impersonate a voice that’s recognizable to you.

It could be a friend, family member, or other loved one – or perhaps even a boss, like the CEO of your company.

Now cybersecurity experts at McAfee have revealed some of the telltale signs that you’re listening to an “audio deepfake”.

And one of the big clues relates to breathing.

“Another marker of a possible fake is when the speaker doesn’t appear to breathe,” McAfee’s Jasdev Dhaliwal explained.

“AI tools don’t always account for this natural part of speech.

“It’s subtle, yet when you know to listen for it, you’ll notice it when a person doesn’t pause for breath.”

RED ALERT

There are some other signs to look out for too.

First, listen to the content of the message and ask yourself if it seems strange.

Secondly, imagine the person speaking and how they usually sound. Does their pattern of speech sound off?

Take note if they use words or turns-of-phrase that they normally wouldn’t.

And also pay attention to odd pauses, which may be a sign that audio is being “stitched” together.

Phone scam statistics

Americans are bombarded with three billion spam phone calls a month. What are the figures regarding the number of victims and the amount of money lost to fraudsters

• In 2022, Americans lost some $39.5 billion to phone scams, with 68.4 million US citizens affected, according to TechReport.
• The average phone scam victim lost $567.41 each in 2021, a major rise on the 2021 figure of $182 per victim, according to Hiya.
• The majority of scams happen over the phone, with fraudsters twice as likely to call compared to text in 2021, as reports the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
• In 2021, the US saw a 56% increase in spam phone calls with 60% of those being robocalls.
• US residents experienced an average of 18 spam phone calls per month, although some experts believe the true figure may be as high as 31 per month.
• Many phone calls from reputable businesses may be marked wrongly as spam, but 38% of companies have no idea whether they’re being marked as “potential fraud” or not, according to Hiya.
• Never hand over any personal or financial information if you suspect a phone call is a scam. For instance, your bank will never ask you for such details in full over the phone. 
• To cut down on spam phone calls and scams, sign up for the Do Not Call Registry. Telemarketers, by law, will need to check that list before they call you up.
• Downloading third-party apps such as Hiya, Nomorobo, or Truecaller can help filter out annoying spam calls.
• Try not to share your phone number unless you have to, especially online or with sketchy sources.

STAY SAFE

Another clever trick to avoid falling for AI voice scams is to use a safe word.

You’ll need to set this up ahead of time with your family members or colleagues.

That way, if you ever get a call asking for money urgently from one of them, you can verify the request using a safe word.

If they say they’ve forgotten it, you could also try asking for very personal shared information that couldn’t be found online – like a memory other people wouldn’t know about.

This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk