A new twisted phone scam in which thieves use artificial intelligence to imitate a distressed child begging his parents for help has now hit New York City.
A mother told the New York Post that she picked up the phone last week to hear her 14-year-old daughter’s voice screaming and crying.
“Mom, I just got arrested. I’m very sorry. “I’m so sorry,” she heard her daughter say.
The mother was then put in contact with a “police officer”. He then told her a detailed story about how the girl had been arrested for drunk driving and then crashed into the car of a pregnant woman who had since been taken to the hospital.
However, according to the police officer’s instructions, the mother had to go to a location to personally hand over $15,500 (CAN$21,000) in cash to a person.
Desperate, she went to the bank to withdraw the money. She was about to go to the designated location when her daughter (who was actually in school taking a chemistry test) finally picked up her phone. When she initially didn’t understand anything his mother was telling him, she informed him that she was actually safe and sound and that it wasn’t her who had called him before.
The mother could sigh contentedly. In retrospect, there were many signs that should have alerted her to the fraud, she now admits.
“I realize it was really stupid – and I’m not a stupid person – but when you hear your child’s voice, screaming, crying, it completely unbalances you,” she explained.
The mother, who has since contacted the police to report the incident, would like to warn parents against fraud of this type.