WEBVTT 00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:02.879 Alright, so check it out. You know how we talk 00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:05.139 about all the weird stuff, they sneak into our 00:00:05.139 --> 00:00:07.980 food, our air, or even our clothes? Yeah. It 00:00:07.980 --> 00:00:10.339 turns out most shirts are basically made of plastic. 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:12.759 You're sweating in chemicals, man. That's why 00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:15.220 I switched to Hypronatural. It's wild. They make 00:00:15.220 --> 00:00:17.579 their fabric from jade stone and crab shells. 00:00:18.019 --> 00:00:20.399 Yeah, you heard me right. Jade and crab shells. 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:23.100 The jade keeps you naturally cool, like literally 00:00:23.100 --> 00:00:25.480 drops your skin temp down a few degrees. And 00:00:25.480 --> 00:00:27.839 the crab shell fibers? They fight odor and help 00:00:27.839 --> 00:00:30.500 your skin stay fresh all day long. So you can 00:00:30.500 --> 00:00:33.479 wear it longer, wash it less. and not smell like 00:00:33.479 --> 00:00:36.579 a dirty old gym tap. They use a fancy -cut mother 00:00:36.579 --> 00:00:39.619 of pearl buttons and zero junk. No polyester, 00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:41.859 no chemical dyes, and none of that synthetic 00:00:41.859 --> 00:00:44.840 garbage. It's clean, it's sustainable, and honestly, 00:00:45.140 --> 00:00:47.079 it's just cool gear. You can wear it anywhere. 00:00:47.259 --> 00:00:50.000 The gym, the range, whatever, and it looks legit. 00:00:50.100 --> 00:00:53.619 Go to hypernatural .com and use my code ZERO 00:00:53.619 --> 00:00:55.859 SIGNAL at checkout and you'll get yourself 20 00:00:55.859 --> 00:00:58.939 % off. And get yourself the cleanest, most comfortable 00:00:58.939 --> 00:01:01.359 shirt you've ever worn. That's hypernatural. 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:05.700 Nature engineered for comfort. Before this episode 00:01:05.700 --> 00:01:08.019 ends, you're going to hear my voice get replaced 00:01:08.019 --> 00:01:11.180 by an AI clone. And I'm betting you won't notice 00:01:11.180 --> 00:01:13.680 when it happens. If you do, drop a comment and 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:16.219 tell everyone the exact moment you think I swapped 00:01:16.219 --> 00:01:18.859 my voice out. Because right now, a stranger can 00:01:18.859 --> 00:01:21.659 lift just a few seconds of your voice from TikTok, 00:01:21.980 --> 00:01:24.659 a podcast, even a voicemail, and make your family 00:01:24.659 --> 00:01:27.159 believe you're in danger. It's called a virtual 00:01:27.159 --> 00:01:29.739 kidnapping scam. And tonight, we're diving into 00:01:29.739 --> 00:01:31.620 real stories of people who lived through it. 00:01:31.640 --> 00:01:33.599 Parents who heard their children begging for 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:36.620 help. who wired money to save someone who wasn't 00:01:36.620 --> 00:01:38.900 really in trouble. Companies that lost millions 00:01:38.900 --> 00:01:41.420 because their CEO's voice was cloned. It's happening 00:01:41.420 --> 00:01:44.340 everywhere. And the scariest part isn't the technology, 00:01:44.519 --> 00:01:46.700 it's how human it sounds. I'm David Green, and 00:01:46.700 --> 00:01:48.620 this is Zero Signal Shorts. Remember to like, 00:01:48.840 --> 00:01:51.019 subscribe, and follow, and join us every Tuesday 00:01:51.019 --> 00:01:53.620 at 6 a .m. Eastern for our full -length deep 00:01:53.620 --> 00:02:12.680 dive episodes. says she was targeted in an elaborate 00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:15.539 scheme that turned out to be a really sophisticated 00:02:15.539 --> 00:02:18.979 AI powered hoax. Tonight 8 on your side is taking 00:02:18.979 --> 00:02:22.259 a deeper look into the capabilities of AI and 00:02:22.259 --> 00:02:24.879 how you can stay protected. His channel is Nicole 00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:27.460 Rogers spoke with a tech consultant and joins 00:02:27.460 --> 00:02:29.680 us now live in Tampa with the very latest Nicole 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:31.979 Powell. That tech consultant is not only shedding 00:02:31.979 --> 00:02:34.360 light on how you can avoid a scheme like this 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:36.939 happening to you, but also showing some other 00:02:36.939 --> 00:02:39.479 areas where predators could be taking advantage 00:02:39.479 --> 00:02:42.780 of you. It's a mother's worst nightmare. Hearing 00:02:42.780 --> 00:02:45.180 your daughter's crying voice on the other end 00:02:45.180 --> 00:02:47.620 of the phone saying something terrible happened. 00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:51.199 There is nobody that could convince me that it 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:55.159 was not. I know my daughter's cry. Even though 00:02:55.159 --> 00:02:57.719 she's an adult, I still know my daughter's cry. 00:02:58.139 --> 00:02:59.979 Sharon Brightwell says the woman on the line 00:02:59.979 --> 00:03:02.460 claimed she'd been in a crash, that she hit a 00:03:02.460 --> 00:03:05.099 pregnant driver while texting. A person posing 00:03:05.099 --> 00:03:08.340 as a lawyer jumped on, saying bail would be $15 00:03:08.340 --> 00:03:12.360 ,000 in cash. So she gave it to them, but later 00:03:12.360 --> 00:03:15.120 got a call from a family friend. She had my daughter 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:19.680 on three -way. And I hear my daughter's f - It 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:22.500 turns out the entire thing was a lie, likely 00:03:22.500 --> 00:03:25.099 powered by artificial intelligence. One thing 00:03:25.099 --> 00:03:28.599 AI can do, much, much faster than we can, is 00:03:28.599 --> 00:03:31.819 learn the patterns of voices. Tech consultant 00:03:31.819 --> 00:03:34.840 Joey DeVilla says AI has the capabilities to 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:38.099 mimic not only your voice, but video too. So 00:03:38.099 --> 00:03:41.620 how can you spot the red flags? Despite the fact 00:03:41.620 --> 00:03:44.740 that they're using AI, all of it is a high -tech 00:03:44.740 --> 00:03:48.659 veneer on top of classic con artist schemes. 00:03:48.969 --> 00:03:51.389 And the most important one that they use, the 00:03:51.389 --> 00:03:54.710 one that works so well in their favor, is urgency. 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:57.479 When I first heard my cloned voice speak, it 00:03:57.479 --> 00:03:59.560 sent a chill through me. It wasn't eerie because 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:02.039 it sounded robotic. It was eerie because it didn't. 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:04.199 The pauses were mine. The tone was mine. Even 00:04:04.199 --> 00:04:06.800 those half breaths between words were perfectly 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:09.099 familiar. For a moment, I forgot I wasn't listening 00:04:09.099 --> 00:04:11.620 to myself. My voice rebuilt by an algorithm. 00:04:11.780 --> 00:04:14.099 My voice fingerprint, perfectly forged. A cloned 00:04:14.099 --> 00:04:16.459 voice isn't cool tech. It's a weapon. It can 00:04:16.459 --> 00:04:18.740 steal, deceive, and terrify. Because if your 00:04:18.740 --> 00:04:21.220 voice can be faked, a stranger... can stage your 00:04:21.220 --> 00:04:49.180 life. I need to access immediately to secure 00:04:49.180 --> 00:04:51.800 your files. Nope, I'm fake. We've detected suspicious 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:54.139 activity on your account. Can you tell me your 00:04:54.139 --> 00:04:56.819 login information? Just kidding, I'm fake. These 00:04:56.819 --> 00:04:59.360 Miracle Hearing Aids are only $14 .99 today. 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:02.879 Click the link below and order now. Nope, I'm 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:05.480 fake, just like these hearing aids. We just need 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:07.779 to confirm your Medicare number to update your 00:05:07.779 --> 00:05:13.430 benefits for this year. No. Not really. Congratulations! 00:05:13.949 --> 00:05:16.610 You've won a million dollars. You just have to 00:05:16.610 --> 00:05:19.689 pay the small claiming fee today. Nope. I'm fake. 00:05:20.689 --> 00:05:23.829 We're raising funds for a sick parishioner. Can 00:05:23.829 --> 00:05:27.569 you send me some Apple gift cards? Nope. I'm 00:05:27.569 --> 00:05:30.290 fake. Can you believe these concert tickets are 00:05:30.290 --> 00:05:35.009 so cheap? No. They are fake, just like all of 00:05:35.009 --> 00:05:38.910 this. Most of these scams only work if you respond 00:05:38.910 --> 00:05:41.550 quickly and without thinking. Don't fall for 00:05:41.550 --> 00:05:45.050 it. Take a moment to assess the situation. Videos 00:05:45.050 --> 00:05:47.329 will be made and shared in the hopes of getting 00:05:47.329 --> 00:05:50.730 people to do things or feel a certain way. Be 00:05:50.730 --> 00:05:54.470 careful. We're collecting donations for wildfire 00:05:54.470 --> 00:05:58.230 victims. Can we count on you? Nope, I'm fake. 00:06:01.290 --> 00:06:05.930 It looks like I stole these donuts, huh? Nope, 00:06:06.550 --> 00:06:10.139 this is all fake. They can make me say anything. 00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:13.160 For example, I don't know my rear end from a 00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:16.839 hole in the ground. See what I mean? Did you 00:06:16.839 --> 00:06:20.860 know the candidate kicks puppies? Nope. That's 00:06:20.860 --> 00:06:26.699 fake and so are we. If you think it looks fake, 00:06:26.699 --> 00:06:33.779 it probably is. Trust your gut. If you mix bananas, 00:06:33.939 --> 00:06:38.069 pickles and ice cream, you'll get sick. Be careful 00:06:38.069 --> 00:06:41.089 of online nutrition advice. This tech is only 00:06:41.089 --> 00:06:44.189 getting better. We can even imitate people you 00:06:44.189 --> 00:06:48.930 know and love. Be careful. Grandma, it's me, 00:06:49.250 --> 00:06:51.230 Billy. I'm in jail and I need to get bailed out. 00:06:51.350 --> 00:06:56.250 Please send cash now. Nope, I'm fake. I miss 00:06:56.250 --> 00:06:59.189 you, baby. If I could just get that plane ticket, 00:06:59.329 --> 00:07:04.230 we'd finally be together. Nope, I'm fake. Hello, 00:07:04.329 --> 00:07:06.670 handsome. Just send me the money for the trip 00:07:06.670 --> 00:07:10.430 and I'll come see you. Nope, sorry, I'm fake. 00:07:12.730 --> 00:07:16.670 What can you do? If you're not sure if something 00:07:16.670 --> 00:07:21.389 is real, ask someone you trust. Again, everything 00:07:21.389 --> 00:07:24.470 in this video is fake. Our voices, what we're 00:07:24.470 --> 00:07:28.029 wearing, where we are, all of it fake. If you 00:07:28.029 --> 00:07:30.110 think you've been the victim of a scam like any 00:07:30.110 --> 00:07:33.170 of these, don't be embarrassed. Contact your 00:07:33.170 --> 00:07:36.250 local law enforcement right away. In early 2023, 00:07:36.470 --> 00:07:38.310 an Arizona mother picked up her phone and heard 00:07:38.310 --> 00:07:40.410 her 15 -year -old daughter sobbing, gasping, 00:07:40.529 --> 00:07:42.689 begging for help. Her whole body locked up. She 00:07:42.689 --> 00:07:45.050 heard a man's voice demanding ransom, $1 million, 00:07:45.470 --> 00:07:48.029 dropping to 50 ,000 if she wired it immediately. 00:07:48.189 --> 00:07:50.170 Don't hang up, he said. Keep this secret, he 00:07:50.170 --> 00:07:52.970 said. Minnis dragged like hours before she learned 00:07:52.970 --> 00:07:55.329 her daughter was actually safe at a ski race. 00:07:55.490 --> 00:07:57.790 The voice she'd heard had been cloned. from short 00:07:57.790 --> 00:08:00.410 clips online. Her maternal reflex? Weaponized. 00:08:00.529 --> 00:08:02.370 Around the same time in Florida, a mother named 00:08:02.370 --> 00:08:04.250 Sharon answered a call from her daughter. At 00:08:04.250 --> 00:08:06.209 least that's what it sounded like. A frantic 00:08:06.209 --> 00:08:08.949 voice, crying that she caused a crash and that 00:08:08.949 --> 00:08:11.069 hurt a pregnant woman. A man claiming to be a 00:08:11.069 --> 00:08:13.670 lawyer stepped in. Bail money. Now. Sharon withdrew 00:08:13.670 --> 00:08:16.790 $15 ,000 and sent it on. Only later did she learn 00:08:16.790 --> 00:08:19.410 her daughter was fine at work. The voice that 00:08:19.410 --> 00:08:21.670 made her panic was a clunk, and she couldn't 00:08:21.670 --> 00:08:23.029 tell the difference. That's what these scammers 00:08:23.029 --> 00:08:25.329 do. Hijack your love, not your logic. Because 00:08:25.329 --> 00:08:28.319 when it's someone die for. Your brain doesn't 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:31.560 analyze. It simply reacts. And these scams are 00:08:31.560 --> 00:08:33.580 spreading. In California's Coachella Valley, 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:36.100 elderly residents have been getting calls from 00:08:36.100 --> 00:08:38.039 what sounds like their children or grandkids. 00:08:38.200 --> 00:08:41.330 Dad, it's me. Help. The voice is right. The panic 00:08:41.330 --> 00:08:43.529 is right. And nearly everyone falls for it. Studies 00:08:43.529 --> 00:08:46.870 show 90 -plus percent of people can't tell the 00:08:46.870 --> 00:08:48.990 difference between a cloned voice from the real 00:08:48.990 --> 00:08:51.070 thing, especially when emotion floods the line. 00:08:51.190 --> 00:08:54.049 One man wired $25 ,000 after hearing what he 00:08:54.049 --> 00:08:56.669 swore was his son's terrified voice. But it wasn't. 00:08:56.710 --> 00:08:59.389 Across the world in India, an elderly man received 00:08:59.389 --> 00:09:01.850 a WhatsApp call from what sounded like his relative 00:09:01.850 --> 00:09:04.029 overseas. The voice said his mother needed urgent 00:09:04.029 --> 00:09:06.210 heart surgery, begged for help. And within minutes, 00:09:06.330 --> 00:09:08.809 the man transferred a bunch of rubies. About 00:09:08.809 --> 00:09:11.769 $1 ,200. The call was fake. The voice was a clone. 00:09:12.090 --> 00:09:14.580 It's a global problem now. traveling across borders 00:09:14.580 --> 00:09:17.200 at the speed of empathy. These calls work because 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:19.840 voice is memory. We recognize each other in the 00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:22.240 dark by breath and rhythm. A good clone doesn't 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:24.960 just mimic sound. It captures timing, hesitation, 00:09:25.179 --> 00:09:27.379 even the way a person leans on vowels. That's 00:09:27.379 --> 00:09:29.360 the fingerprint our ears trust. And that's what 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:32.159 gets used against us. This isn't only a family 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:34.580 problem. It's a born word problem. In Hong Kong, 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:36.759 an employee joined what looked like a routine 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:40.039 video call with his company's CFO and team. The 00:09:40.039 --> 00:09:42.320 voices and faces all checked out. The instructions 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:45.009 were very clear. move funds, keep it confidential. 00:09:45.330 --> 00:09:48.230 $25 million vanished before anyone realized the 00:09:48.230 --> 00:09:51.190 entire meeting had been a deep fake. Faces and 00:09:51.190 --> 00:09:54.049 voices completely synthetic. Back in 2019, a 00:09:54.049 --> 00:09:56.610 UK energy executive took a phone call from someone 00:09:56.610 --> 00:09:59.279 who sounded exactly like his boss. The accent, 00:09:59.580 --> 00:10:01.799 the tone, the phrasing, it all matched. The caller 00:10:01.799 --> 00:10:05.100 ordered an urgent transfer of over 200 ,000 euros. 00:10:05.379 --> 00:10:08.340 He obeyed. As it turns out, the boss was an AI 00:10:08.340 --> 00:10:10.320 -generated voice. This was the first headline 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:12.100 case of its kind. We've been playing catch -up 00:10:12.100 --> 00:10:14.679 ever since. The scammer script rarely changes. 00:10:14.899 --> 00:10:17.879 Urgency, secrecy, authority. Don't hang up. Keep 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:20.580 this a secret. Wire it now. When urgency wears 00:10:20.580 --> 00:10:22.679 the voice of someone you love or someone you 00:10:22.679 --> 00:10:27.080 work for, doubt dies first. 25 ,000 dollars. 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:32.919 is now out of my wife and my retirement savings. 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:37.429 Gone. He fell victim to an old scam with a very 00:10:37.429 --> 00:10:40.149 new twist, crooks using artificial intelligence 00:10:40.149 --> 00:10:42.690 to rip people off. Welcome back, I'm Mark Brown. 00:10:42.990 --> 00:10:44.769 I'm Jovanna Lotta, you're watching Eyewitness 00:10:44.769 --> 00:10:47.830 News at 5, live on ABC 7, Hulu and wherever you 00:10:47.830 --> 00:10:51.070 stream. We often report on phone scams that con 00:10:51.070 --> 00:10:53.610 artists use to get at your money. Now they're 00:10:53.610 --> 00:10:56.389 taking advantage of AI to make their scams even 00:10:56.389 --> 00:10:58.549 more believable. Eyewitness News reporter Carlos 00:10:58.549 --> 00:11:00.769 Granda explains how it works and what you can 00:11:00.769 --> 00:11:03.429 do to avoid becoming a victim in this seven on 00:11:03.429 --> 00:11:07.000 your side investigation. investigation. I look 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:10.460 like a fool. I feel like a fool, but I don't 00:11:10.460 --> 00:11:15.440 care. I want to help everybody that I can possibly 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:18.200 help Anthony who doesn't want to give his last 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:21.240 name says that's how he feels after he was scammed 00:11:21.240 --> 00:11:24.559 out of $25 ,000. It all started when he got a 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:27.159 phone call that he believed was from his son 00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:32.519 dad. I had a horrible accident. I ran into a 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:35.700 woman who is pregnant carrying a child inside 00:11:35.700 --> 00:11:39.759 of her. She was rushed to the ICU. He says after 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:42.580 a short conversation, he hangs up and gets another 00:11:42.580 --> 00:11:44.919 call from someone who says his name is Michael 00:11:44.919 --> 00:11:47.600 Roberts and he's a lawyer. He then tells Anthony 00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:51.379 he needs $9 ,200 for his son's bail. He said 00:11:51.379 --> 00:11:57.120 you need to get $9 ,200 as fast as you can if 00:11:57.120 --> 00:12:00.639 you want your son out of jail. Otherwise, he's 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:04.379 in for 45 days. Anthony says he did try to call 00:12:04.379 --> 00:12:06.940 his son back to verify all of this, but the call 00:12:06.940 --> 00:12:09.419 went to voicemail, so he assumed it's because 00:12:09.419 --> 00:12:12.399 he really was in jail. So Anthony rushes to the 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:15.320 bank to get the money. He says to avoid suspicion 00:12:15.320 --> 00:12:17.779 or any holdups, he tells the bank it's for a 00:12:17.779 --> 00:12:20.259 solar panel installation and they approve it. 00:12:20.460 --> 00:12:22.940 He then gets home and asks his daughter to call 00:12:22.940 --> 00:12:26.100 the person identified as Michael Roberts. And 00:12:26.100 --> 00:12:28.789 she says, we've got the money. What do we do 00:12:28.789 --> 00:12:31.309 now? He said, don't worry, someone will be at 00:12:31.309 --> 00:12:36.289 the house. It'll be an Uber car any minute. And 00:12:36.289 --> 00:12:39.200 with that. There's an uber car. This surveillance 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:41.639 video shows as his daughter takes the money out 00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:44.120 in a manila envelope. They check the license 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:47.019 plate and the driver to make sure it is a legitimate 00:12:47.019 --> 00:12:49.600 uber driver. She hands over the money and the 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:52.600 driver leaves. Then the phone rings again. This 00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:55.139 time a different man who says his name is Mark 00:12:55.139 --> 00:12:57.659 Cohen and he's another attorney involved in the 00:12:57.659 --> 00:13:01.179 case. He says the pregnant woman died. The bail 00:13:01.179 --> 00:13:06.690 has been raised. Mark Cohen says another $15 00:13:06.690 --> 00:13:14.230 ,800 to $25 ,000. So they repeat everything again, 00:13:14.429 --> 00:13:16.190 getting more money out of the bank and giving 00:13:16.190 --> 00:13:19.029 it to yet another Uber driver who picks up the 00:13:19.029 --> 00:13:22.190 second package. Anthony says as things calm down, 00:13:22.289 --> 00:13:24.649 they start searching the Internet and doing research 00:13:24.649 --> 00:13:27.789 and his daughter tells him the bad news and says, 00:13:27.789 --> 00:13:31.610 Dad, I hope I'm wrong. I think you have just 00:13:31.610 --> 00:13:38.929 been scammed. out of $25 ,000. Never even crossed 00:13:38.929 --> 00:13:42.230 my mind. Police say this type of scam is not 00:13:42.230 --> 00:13:45.289 new. Variations on it have been around for years, 00:13:45.629 --> 00:13:48.429 but they say now using new technology, those 00:13:48.429 --> 00:13:51.129 calls or notifications can appear more realistic 00:13:51.129 --> 00:13:54.070 than ever. The scammers are just becoming more 00:13:54.070 --> 00:13:56.350 clever. What makes these scams so devastating 00:13:56.350 --> 00:13:58.929 isn't just the tech. It's biology. Your body 00:13:58.929 --> 00:14:02.090 hears distress or authority and floods with adrenaline. 00:14:02.350 --> 00:14:04.950 Logic slows. Scammers know this. They don't need 00:14:04.950 --> 00:14:07.269 perfect audio. They just need to reach you before 00:14:07.269 --> 00:14:10.110 reason does. And it's not just home phones. Businesses 00:14:10.110 --> 00:14:12.830 are bleeding money too. In 2024, engineers at 00:14:12.830 --> 00:14:15.269 a UK firm sat through what they thought. was 00:14:15.269 --> 00:14:17.710 a real Zoom meeting. Familiar voices, familiar 00:14:17.710 --> 00:14:20.110 faces, every one of them faked. Millions moved, 00:14:20.289 --> 00:14:22.269 no alarms tripped. It was the corporate version 00:14:22.269 --> 00:14:24.690 of a family scam. Same con, difference takes. 00:14:24.870 --> 00:14:27.330 Let's talk about what to do when it happens to 00:14:27.330 --> 00:14:30.190 you, or perhaps before it does. Roll one, breathe. 00:14:30.529 --> 00:14:32.830 Seriously, the first breath slows the panic. 00:14:33.009 --> 00:14:34.970 Roll two, hang up. Even if it feels wrong, hang 00:14:34.970 --> 00:14:37.250 up. A real emergency survives a callback. A fake 00:14:37.250 --> 00:14:39.620 one doesn't. Roll three. Call a known number, 00:14:39.779 --> 00:14:41.480 not the one that just called you. Roll four, 00:14:41.620 --> 00:14:44.100 have a family code word. Make it goofy, unforgettable, 00:14:44.419 --> 00:14:46.120 something you never say by accident. If your 00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:48.480 son or your sister can't give it up, hang up. 00:14:48.580 --> 00:14:50.580 Roll five, when money enters the conversation, 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:54.480 the bar of perv skyrockets. Two voices. Two verifications, 00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:57.039 always. These sound like small things, but they're 00:14:57.039 --> 00:14:59.620 not. They're breaks, and breaks saved lives and 00:14:59.620 --> 00:15:01.720 savings alike. Law enforcement keeps finding 00:15:01.720 --> 00:15:04.379 patterns. Calls arrive at vulnerable hours, late 00:15:04.379 --> 00:15:06.519 afternoon, when people are tired. Travel days, 00:15:06.659 --> 00:15:08.860 when kids are unreachable. Practice nights, when 00:15:08.860 --> 00:15:11.080 you expect to miss calls. There is own mother's 00:15:11.080 --> 00:15:13.200 story, hinged on exactly that. Her daughter was 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:15.500 at a ski race. The scam fit the moment perfectly. 00:15:15.659 --> 00:15:18.659 That's the art. Exploiting gaps in normal communication. 00:15:18.820 --> 00:15:21.440 In Coachella Valley, scammers target grandparents 00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:24.379 between 3 p .m. and 6 p .m. when isolation peaks 00:15:24.379 --> 00:15:26.840 and the body's decision -making slows. In India, 00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:29.120 they time WhatsApp calls to hit just after bank 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:31.200 hours so victims can't confirm until morning. 00:15:31.340 --> 00:15:32.779 They know the rhythms of our lives better than 00:15:32.779 --> 00:15:35.190 we do. Technology is trying to fight back. Caller 00:15:35.190 --> 00:15:37.629 ID authentication can flag spoof numbers, but 00:15:37.629 --> 00:15:39.830 it can't detect cloned voices. Some banks are 00:15:39.830 --> 00:15:41.950 adding voice print verification. But the paradox 00:15:41.950 --> 00:15:44.169 is obvious. When your voice can be forward, voice 00:15:44.169 --> 00:15:46.110 print security becomes a liability. Lawmakers 00:15:46.110 --> 00:15:48.509 are slowly catching up, recognizing voice as 00:15:48.509 --> 00:15:50.570 personal property. Your voice likeness protected 00:15:50.570 --> 00:15:53.350 under law. But legislators move slower than innovation. 00:15:53.549 --> 00:15:55.889 And the bad actors, they don't wait. So the best 00:15:55.889 --> 00:15:59.090 defense is cultural. A cultural form of verification. 00:15:59.330 --> 00:16:01.409 In families, that means no shame in hanging up 00:16:01.409 --> 00:16:03.629 and calling back. In offices, it means written 00:16:03.629 --> 00:16:06.149 approvals for wire transfers and no single point 00:16:06.149 --> 00:16:08.850 of authorizations. In schools, it means no voice 00:16:08.850 --> 00:16:11.309 only identity checks for exams or credentials. 00:16:11.450 --> 00:16:13.610 It's not paranoia, it's hygiene. Hello, Abigail. 00:16:13.769 --> 00:16:15.990 I love you so much, darling. I had to make this 00:16:15.990 --> 00:16:18.149 video to make you happy, my love. Well, it looks 00:16:18.149 --> 00:16:20.129 like him. It even sounds like him. But what if 00:16:20.129 --> 00:16:22.990 we told you this is not actually General Hospital? 00:16:22.860 --> 00:16:25.259 actor Steve Burton and the video is being used 00:16:25.259 --> 00:16:27.639 to trick you for your money. One woman believes 00:16:27.639 --> 00:16:29.559 she was speaking directly with the soap opera 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:32.200 star and assumed she had video proof but in reality 00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:34.899 she was being duped by thieves with zero connections 00:16:34.899 --> 00:16:37.039 to the actor. Take a look at the videos for yourself. 00:16:37.080 --> 00:16:39.340 It's easy to understand the confusion. Can you 00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:42.139 tell which one is the real Steve Burton? The 00:16:42.139 --> 00:16:44.379 one on the left is him while the one on the right 00:16:44.379 --> 00:16:47.220 is an artificial intelligence version. Eyewitness 00:16:47.220 --> 00:16:49.419 News investigative reporter Kevin Osebeck here 00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:53.419 to explain this scam. Wow Kevin. has artificial 00:16:53.419 --> 00:16:56.080 intelligence now become so good and so advanced 00:16:56.080 --> 00:16:58.899 you could no longer truly tell what is real and 00:16:58.899 --> 00:17:01.519 what is fake. Well, a South LA family sure thinks 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:03.840 we've now reached that point. A woman turned 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:06.000 to seven on your side investigates after her 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:09.460 mom lost tens of thousands of dollars and even 00:17:09.460 --> 00:17:12.359 sold her home. All because her mother thought 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:15.539 the star of General Hospital was deeply in love 00:17:15.539 --> 00:17:18.880 with her. I'm sickened by it because it went 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:22.000 this far. Why didn't I know this? Why didn't 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:25.880 I see what was happening? What? What did I miss? 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:29.059 Vivian Rublecaba wishes she knew sooner what 00:17:29.059 --> 00:17:32.380 her mother Abigail was doing online and what 00:17:32.380 --> 00:17:35.680 Abigail was texting to the scammer who sent her 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:38.099 there. Hello, Abigail. I love you so much, darling. 00:17:38.140 --> 00:17:40.140 I had to make this video to make you happy, my 00:17:40.140 --> 00:17:43.019 love. To general hospital fans, this face and 00:17:43.019 --> 00:17:46.420 voice are instantly recognizable as the likeness 00:17:46.420 --> 00:17:48.559 of Steve Burden. We're gonna be there to stop 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:51.000 him one way or another. Burden has played the 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:54.259 leading role of Jason Morgan since 1991. And 00:17:54.259 --> 00:17:57.200 as a fan favorite, tech experts, we show this 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:01.259 video to believe it was created with AI. And 00:18:01.259 --> 00:18:03.099 you should always know that nothing will ever 00:18:03.099 --> 00:18:05.579 make me hurt you or lie to you, my queen. Identical 00:18:05.579 --> 00:18:07.819 to him. So I understand why she fell for it. 00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:10.259 After Abigail received similar videos in her 00:18:10.259 --> 00:18:13.400 Facebook DMs in October of last year, she thought 00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:16.400 the real General Hospital star was in love with 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:18.720 her. The scammer moved the conversation over 00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:21.220 to WhatsApp, where he told Abigail, I want to 00:18:21.220 --> 00:18:23.960 live the rest of my life with you. Steve Burden 00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:27.299 and Abigail Burden sounds like a dream come true. 00:18:27.900 --> 00:18:30.799 And... You're my wife in her head. It was. There 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:33.140 was no scammer. She was talking to Steve Burton 00:18:33.140 --> 00:18:35.960 the entire time. Vivian says her mother has suffered 00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:38.900 with mental illness and bipolar one disorder 00:18:38.900 --> 00:18:41.920 for years, and she says that's why when the scammer 00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:44.619 posing as the soap star texted her mom that he 00:18:44.619 --> 00:18:47.839 lost properties in the LA fires, Abigail believed 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:51.099 Abigail was also fooled with text like this. 00:18:51.140 --> 00:18:53.819 The Beach House is something we will love baby 00:18:53.819 --> 00:18:56.420 thinking Steve Burton needed money so they could 00:18:56.420 --> 00:19:00.099 buy a home to share. Together, her mother, according 00:19:00.099 --> 00:19:03.339 to an LAPD incident report, sent the scammer 00:19:03.339 --> 00:19:10.519 at least $81 ,304 in gift cards, cash, and bitcoin. 00:19:11.019 --> 00:19:12.819 Now she's in complete debt and now she's going 00:19:12.819 --> 00:19:16.500 to have to file for bankruptcy. But it gets even 00:19:16.500 --> 00:19:19.259 worse. Earlier this year, Abigail texted the 00:19:19.259 --> 00:19:22.279 scammer, I remember you had suggested to sell 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:27.019 the place. I said no. Now I don't care. This 00:19:27.019 --> 00:19:29.740 scammer replied. If selling a place is what will 00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:32.039 give us a fresh start and bring us closer to 00:19:32.039 --> 00:19:35.339 where we both want to be, then I am behind Abigail 00:19:35.339 --> 00:19:40.819 that sold her condo in Harbor City for $350 ,000. 00:19:41.220 --> 00:19:43.920 Vivian learned of all this right in the nick 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:48.150 of time. Had I not intervened when I did, she 00:19:48.150 --> 00:19:52.990 was scheduled to send the scammer $70 ,000 out 00:19:52.990 --> 00:19:58.210 of that money that was sitting there. She's ashamed. 00:20:00.170 --> 00:20:06.990 I know she is. And to put that stress on me, 00:20:07.349 --> 00:20:12.190 on herself, on my dad, the entire family, I know 00:20:12.190 --> 00:20:16.990 it weighs heavy on me. And unfortunately, the 00:20:16.990 --> 00:20:20.069 living, breathing Steve Burden has heard of stories 00:20:20.069 --> 00:20:22.589 like this before. How many women do you think 00:20:22.589 --> 00:20:25.309 have fallen victim to this? Oh, that I know of? 00:20:25.309 --> 00:20:30.950 I mean, that I know of lost money? It's in the 00:20:30.950 --> 00:20:34.509 hundreds. Burden says here on his verified Instagram 00:20:34.509 --> 00:20:37.430 account, he sees scammers responding to fan comments 00:20:37.430 --> 00:20:40.869 to lure them to other pages where they are eventually 00:20:40.869 --> 00:20:44.609 asked for money. Now let's set with the emotional 00:20:44.609 --> 00:20:46.809 aftermath because numbers don't tell it. Victims 00:20:46.809 --> 00:20:48.829 talk about guilt. How did I fall for that? But 00:20:48.829 --> 00:20:50.650 trauma fits better. They replay every sound. 00:20:50.670 --> 00:20:53.170 The cry, the breath, the silence before the line 00:20:53.170 --> 00:20:55.049 went dead. The sound of their loved ones being 00:20:55.049 --> 00:20:57.269 weaponized. That's a memory that doesn't fade 00:20:57.269 --> 00:21:00.170 easily. It replaces trust with suspicion, and 00:21:00.170 --> 00:21:02.410 suspicion corrodes ordinary life. I promised 00:21:02.410 --> 00:21:04.930 to tell you how little it took to build my voice 00:21:04.930 --> 00:21:06.950 clone. I used 20 seconds of clean audio, less 00:21:06.950 --> 00:21:09.029 than a sip of coffee. In a few minutes, the software 00:21:09.029 --> 00:21:11.470 produced a model that could say things I never 00:21:11.470 --> 00:21:13.549 said. It wasn't perfect, but it didn't need to 00:21:13.549 --> 00:21:15.670 be. If you were scared or tired or desperate, 00:21:15.750 --> 00:21:17.630 you'd believe it. That's the terrifying simplicity 00:21:17.630 --> 00:21:20.069 of it. We can't put the genie back in the box. 00:21:19.950 --> 00:21:22.809 voice cloning isn't going away, and it's actually 00:21:22.809 --> 00:21:25.009 only getting better. But we can get smarter, 00:21:25.349 --> 00:21:27.609 slower, and less predictable. The key is friction. 00:21:27.809 --> 00:21:30.359 Build friction into your habits. hang up, call 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:33.380 back, verify, add code words, layer proof. These 00:21:33.380 --> 00:21:35.980 little pauses are how we survive the illusion 00:21:35.980 --> 00:21:38.359 of immediate failure. When you strip it down, 00:21:38.619 --> 00:21:41.240 these scam work because sound used to mean truth 00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:43.740 and voice on the other end of a line meant presence. 00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:46.259 Now it just means possibility, real or perhaps 00:21:46.259 --> 00:21:48.799 fake. Hearing used to be believing. Today, hearing 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:51.450 needs a second opinion or voices. carry trust, 00:21:51.730 --> 00:21:53.849 they carry memory, they carry us. When that can 00:21:53.849 --> 00:21:56.690 be copied, that boundary between person and machine 00:21:56.690 --> 00:21:59.109 blurs. The only way back is to reteach ourselves 00:21:59.109 --> 00:22:01.589 to pause, to question even when it feels familiar. 00:22:01.750 --> 00:22:04.470 So the next time your phone rings and panic walks 00:22:04.470 --> 00:22:06.930 through your ear, just breathe. Ask a question 00:22:06.930 --> 00:22:09.740 only your person would know. call back, verify 00:22:09.740 --> 00:22:12.640 before you act. Because yes, they cloned my voice. 00:22:12.779 --> 00:22:14.579 They can clone yours too. The question isn't 00:22:14.579 --> 00:22:17.000 whether we can stop the technology. It's whether 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:19.619 we can live wisely with it. Wisely enough to 00:22:19.619 --> 00:22:22.539 refuse to lie, even when it sounds exactly like 00:22:22.539 --> 00:22:24.579 somebody we love. And it doesn't stop there. 00:22:24.670 --> 00:22:26.849 Voices can be unpredictable. You hear them on 00:22:26.849 --> 00:22:28.950 the phone, you can't see a picture to cooperate 00:22:28.950 --> 00:22:31.609 the findings. But guess what? AI is cloning your 00:22:31.609 --> 00:22:34.309 likeness as well. It can be done simply, easily, 00:22:34.609 --> 00:22:36.730 and quickly. I can make it look like you, make 00:22:36.730 --> 00:22:39.369 it sound like you, persuade you to do whatever 00:22:39.369 --> 00:22:41.720 I want. because you would love that image and 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:43.900 that sound, but you can't believe everything 00:22:43.900 --> 00:22:46.940 you see or hear. You have to use discernment 00:22:46.940 --> 00:22:48.900 or you'll find yourself being taken advantage 00:22:48.900 --> 00:22:51.759 of at zero signal. We want to protect you. Remember 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:54.160 to pause. Remember to have discernment. Remember 00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:57.410 to think. call back and be ready because everybody 00:22:57.410 --> 00:23:00.450 out here at least has been attempted to be scammed 00:23:00.450 --> 00:23:03.049 once. So be wise. I'm David Green, and this is 00:23:03.049 --> 00:23:05.130 Zero Signal. Remember to join us every Tuesday 00:23:05.130 --> 00:23:07.849 at 6 a .m. for our full -length deep dive episodes 00:23:07.849 --> 00:23:10.769 into the strange, the unknown, and the conspiracy 00:23:10.769 --> 00:23:12.769 shaping our world. If this story helped you, 00:23:12.910 --> 00:23:14.589 share it with someone who needs to hear it before 00:23:14.589 --> 00:23:16.950 their phone rings. And remember, pause, breathe, 00:23:17.089 --> 00:23:17.509 verify.