For years, there has been a disturbing trend of individuals receiving calls claiming that their family members have been abducted, all in an effort to extract money. However, the introduction of advanced technology has significantly heightened the realism of these distressing calls for unsuspecting victims.
Fraudsters are now leveraging artificial intelligence to replicate the voice of a family member who is allegedly in danger. A recording is played over the phone as evidence, followed by a demand for ransom.
“It’s absolutely terrifying. I have three kids that are still in school ranging from 17 to 5 years old and it’s terrifying to think what could happen,” Justin Wargo told KOMO News when asked about this scam.
In King County, the Highline School District has indicated that two families have received one of these calls. The King County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed to KOMO News that an investigation is underway and is advising the public to remain alert when receiving phone calls.
In certain instances, the fraudster might assert that they have abducted a family member.
In some cases, when the relative isn’t a minor, the fraudster fabricates a story suggesting that the family member was involved in a minor accident, such as rear-ending another vehicle or colliding with someone in a parking lot. A threatening call has been made, insisting on immediate payment or the risk of a family member being taken hostage.
When the individual targeted by the scam requests to talk to a family member, the fraudster responds by playing a pre-recorded message that might say, “Mom, follow their instructions.”
“As the AI technology has advanced, it’s really made great strides in the last couple of years. A lot of criminals, cyber criminals, and fraudsters have adopted technology in making their scams and their actions much more convincing much more realistic,” Kaustubh Medhe, VP of Research & Threat Intelligence at Cyble said.
In a surprising development regarding the kidnapping scam in western Washington, it has come to light that the families affected in the two incidents within the Highline School District are non-native English speakers.
Additionally, Medhe informed KOMO News that numerous fraudsters create applications that children and parents might install on their smart devices.
“And many of these applications are malicious. And what they do is basically access to the contact list of the person using the phone sometimes also have access to the microphone,” he explained.
What steps should you take if you receive one of these phone calls? Request a direct conversation with your cherished one and pose a unique question that only they would know the answer to.
Establishing a unique code with your family that remains confidential is also an option.
“As a parent, we all need to take those precautions and set limitations when it comes to tablets, cell phones, things like that,” said Wargo.