AI 'voice clone' scams increasingly hitting elderly Americans, senators warn

AI 'voice clone' scams increasingly hitting elderly Americans, senators warn | 19 May 2023 | Generative artificial intelligence systems are already making it easier for scammers to con elderly Americans out of their money, and several senators are asking the Biden administration to step in and protect people from this quickly emerging threat. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., the top Republican on the Senate Special Committee on Aging, spearheaded a bipartisan letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday that asks for an update on what the agency knows about AI-drive scams against the elderly and what it is doing to protect people. The letter, signed by every member of the Senate committee from both parties, asks about AI-powered technology that can be used to replicate people's voices. The letter to FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan warned that voice clones and chatbots are allowing scammers to trick the elderly into making them believe they are talking to a relative or close friend, which leaves them vulnerable to theft.