The Federal Bureau of Investigation released an alert on Dec. 19 warning that phony text messages and AI are being used to scam people in the orbits of high-level government officials in the United States.
“Since at least 2023, malicious actors have sent text messages and AI-generated voice messages — techniques known as smishing and vishing, respectively — that claim to come from a senior U.S. official to establish rapport with targeted individuals,” The FBI wrote in an announcement.
The bureau released a similar Public Service Announcement in May. It’s becoming increasingly common over the past two years for people to be duped by fake officials, including those from the Cabinet, Congress, and even the White House, according to the alert.
“Malicious actors are impersonating senior U.S. officials via text and AI-generated voice messages and targeting their contacts, including family members,” the FBI wrote in a recent tweet on the issue. The alert noted that they will typically want to talk about policy or the news before getting them to another platform to continue the scam.
“In this scheme, actors reach out to victims and engage them in a brief conversation on a topic they are knowledgeable about. They quickly request to move the discussion to a secondary, encrypted messaging app,” the agency added.
When the “malicious actor” is able to move the conversation to an encrypted messaging software, like Signal or Telegram, they then might be asked to give away sensitive information like a passport, a code that would allow access to the “victim’s contact list,” and even “wire funds to an overseas financial institution under false pretenses.” As for the contact list request, it allows scammers to target others within that individual’s circle.
However, the FBI recommended that people take extra steps to verify whether or not a message is legitimate, like cross-checking phone numbers and other ways the person contacted.
The bureau acknowledged that the recent developments in AI have added an extra roadblock for people to identify these scams.
“AI-generated content has advanced to the point that it is often difficult to identify. When in doubt about the authenticity of someone wishing to communicate with you, contact your relevant security officials or the FBI for help,” the announcement stated.
Different types of AI scams have been increasing, CBS News reported in October, as the technology rapidly develops.
