By At Ease Online · Updated May 2026 · 8 minute read
The grandparent scam: One of the most distressing uses of cloned voices involves a call that appears to be from a grandchild or family member in trouble — an accident, an arrest, a medical emergency. The voice sounds real because it is built from the person's own recordings, often taken from social media. The caller asks for money urgently, and begs you not to tell anyone else in the family. This scam is now reported regularly in the UK and across Europe.
AI Scams: Voice Cloning, Deepfakes & Fake Messages
Scammers have always been convincing. Now they have tools that can copy a voice from a short clip, generate a realistic video call, and write a flawless message in any style - in seconds. This guide explains what that means for you.
For years, one of the easiest ways to spot a scam was poor spelling, strange phrasing, or a message that simply did not sound right. Those clues are disappearing. Artificial intelligence tools - many of them free and widely available - can now generate natural, convincing written messages, realistic-sounding voices, and even video footage of people saying things they never said.
This does not mean every call or message is a scam, and it is not meant to create alarm. But it does mean that some of the instincts people have relied on - "it didn't sound like him" or "the email had spelling mistakes" - are no longer as reliable as they once were. Understanding what these tools can do is the first step to not being caught out by them.
Why AI has changed the scam landscape.
Voice cloning uses a short recording of someone's voice — sometimes as little as a few seconds of audio - to generate new speech in that person's voice, saying whatever the fraudster wants. The technology has become remarkably accurate and is now accessible to anyone with an internet connection.
Voice cloning.
The emotional pressure of hearing a familiar voice in apparent distress is extremely powerful, and that is precisely why this method is used. Taking a moment to pause - even when every instinct says to act immediately - can be the difference between falling for it and not.
If you receive a call like this, the single most effective thing you can do is hang up and call the person back directly on a number you already have for them. If they are genuinely in trouble, they will answer or call you back. If the line goes dead or you are told not to call them, that is a clear sign something is wrong.
Deepfakes
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Video call impersonation
Fraudsters have used deepfake video to impersonate police officers, bank officials, and even family members on live video calls - giving the impression of a face-to-face conversation with a trusted person. The video quality is not always perfect, but it is often convincing enough, particularly when combined with a spoofed phone number and a scripted, authoritative manner.
Celebrity and public figure scams
Deepfake videos of well-known faces - news presenters, politicians, business figures - are widely used to promote fake investment schemes. The person on screen appears to be endorsing an opportunity that they have nothing to do with. These videos circulate on social media and can appear highly credible at first glance.
On a video call, a few things can reveal a deepfake: slight delays between speech and lip movement, unnatural blinking, edges of the face that blur or shift slightly, and lighting that does not quite match the background. These are subtle and easy to miss, which is why the content of the call matters more than the visual.
AI-generated phishing messages.
Phishing are fraudulent messages designed to trick you into clicking a link or handing over information - has existed for decades. What has changed is the quality. AI writing tools can now produce emails and text messages that are grammatically perfect, match the tone of a genuine organisation, and are personalised with your name and other details gathered from data breaches.
A message that once might have read "Dear Customer, your account have been suspend" now reads: "Dear [Your Name], we've noticed unusual activity on your account and have temporarily restricted access as a precaution. Please verify your identity to restore full access." The link it contains, however, leads somewhere entirely fake.
The tell is no longer the writing. With AI-generated messages, the quality of the text is no longer a reliable warning sign. Instead, focus on what the message is asking you to do - click a link, call a number, make a payment, or share information. Legitimate organisations rarely contact you out of the blue and ask for urgent action.
Warning signs that still apply.
Even as AI makes scams harder to spot by appearance alone, several reliable warning signs remain:
Urgency and pressure: "Act now or your account will be closed." "You have 24 hours." Genuine organisations give you time to think and verify.
A request for money, gift cards, or bank transfer: No legitimate caller like the police, bank, HMRC, or family member, will ask you to transfer money to a safe account or buy gift cards and read out the codes.
A request to keep the call or message secret: "Don't tell your family." This is always a manipulation tactic.
Contact out of the blue about something alarming: Whether a cloned voice saying a family member is in trouble, or an email saying your account has been compromised, unexpected alarm is a scammer's primary tool.
A link you were not expecting: If an email or text asks you to click something and you were not expecting it, go directly to the organisation's website instead of using the link provided.
A practical rule: the codeword
One increasingly recommended safeguard against voice cloning scams is to agree a codeword with close family members in advance - particularly elderly parents and grandchildren. If you ever receive a call from someone claiming to be a family member in an emergency, you can ask for the codeword. A real family member will know it. A cloned voice or an impersonator will not.
It sounds simple because it is. The codeword does not need to be elaborate - something completely unrelated to your lives works well. What matters is that everyone in the family knows it exists and knows to use it.
What to do if you think you have encountered an AI scam.
Stop and pause before acting. The goal of the scam is to make you act before you have thought it through. Any call or message creating urgency deserves a few minutes of calm consideration.
Verify through a separate channel. If a call claims to be from your bank, hang up and call the number on the back of your card. If a message claims to be from a family member, call them on their usual number.
Do not click links in unexpected messages. Go directly to the organisation's website by typing the address yourself.
Report it. Report scam calls and messages to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, or at reportfraud.police.uk. Forward suspicious texts to 7726. Reporting helps the authorities track patterns and warn others.
If you have already sent money or shared personal information, contact your bank immediately using the number on the back of your card. Acting quickly is the most important thing - banks have fraud teams available around the clock and can sometimes stop or reverse a transfer.
One Final Note
You can't always have someone beside you when an unexpected call or message arrives. But when you know what to look for, and have the right support in place, so you can face it calmly and confidently.
That's where we come in.
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Sources
Sources: National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) — AI and deepfake fraud guidance 2025; Action Fraud — AI-enabled fraud reporting data 2025; Which? — voice cloning scam warnings UK 2025; UK Finance — Authorised Push Payment fraud and impersonation scam data 2025; Stop Scams UK — 7726 reporting scheme; Age UK — fraud and scam awareness resources.
This guide is for general information. If you believe you have been targeted by a scam, contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or visit reportfraud.police.uk. If you have sent money, contact your bank immediately.