A Florida woman was conned out of $15,000 by scammers who used artificial intelligence to clone her daughter’s voice, convincing her that her daughter had killed someone in a car accident. The sophisticated scam highlights the growing threat of AI-powered voice cloning technology in criminal schemes, where scammers can now replicate loved ones’ voices with alarming accuracy to exploit family bonds and trigger panic-driven financial decisions.
How the scam unfolded: Sharon Brightwell received a call last Wednesday from what appeared to be her daughter April Monroe’s phone number, with an AI-cloned voice claiming she had hit a pregnant woman while texting and driving.
- “There is nobody that could convince me that it was not [her voice],” Brightwell told WFLA. “I know my daughter’s cry, even though she’s an adult, I still know my daughter’s cry.”
- A man then posed as Monroe’s attorney, demanding $15,000 cash for bail and warning that revealing the purpose to the bank would affect her daughter’s credit.
- After Brightwell withdrew the money and gave it to a driver, scammers called again claiming to be relatives of the “victim,” demanding an additional $30,000 for the supposed death of an unborn baby.
The emotional toll: Monroe’s son was with Brightwell during the entire ordeal and experienced severe distress until Monroe texted him during her lunch break, revealing the scam.
- “My voice was AI cloned and sounded exactly like me,” Monroe wrote on a GoFundMe page. “After you hear your child in distress, all logic is out the window.”
- Monroe’s son “hunched over to throw up” when he first saw her and realized she was safe.
- “To tell you the trauma that my mom and son went through that day makes me nauseous and has made me lose more faith in humanity,” Monroe wrote.
What experts recommend: The family now encourages proactive measures to prevent similar AI voice cloning scams.
- They suggest establishing a “code word” to use in emergency situations to verify identity.
- Monroe has filed a police report and an investigation is underway with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department.
Why this matters: This case demonstrates how AI voice cloning technology is being weaponized by criminals to exploit emotional vulnerabilities, making traditional phone scams far more convincing and dangerous for unsuspecting families.
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