Fortune reported on October 24, 2026, that AI voice cloning is showing up more and more in scams. In some of them, the caller fakes a kidnapping using a voice that sounds just like your child.

How little audio it takes

Fortune cites tests by the security company McAfee. In those tests, a three-second clip was enough to make a voice clone with an 85% match to the real speaker.

Scams are already costly. Fortune cites a Gallup and Stop Scams Alliance survey estimating that 15 million American adults lost about $68 billion to scams in 2025. The survey says 12% of the scams involved AI or a deepfake.

According to Fortune, scammers can pull voice samples from videos people post on sites like Instagram and TikTok.

One mother's five hours on the phone

Fortune describes the case of Deborah Del Mastro, a mother in Martinez, California. In May, a man called her from an unknown number. He said a Mexican drug cartel had kidnapped her 37-year-old daughter. Then he played what sounded like her daughter crying for help.

Del Mastro told ABC7 News she followed the caller's orders for five hours. She wired $5,400 to Mexico from several places. She was eventually told her daughter would be released at a grocery store. When she got there, she couldn't find her.

When Del Mastro finally called her daughter directly, her daughter had been at work the whole time. Martinez police are investigating. Del Mastro told ABC7 she doesn't expect to get the money back.

Why a familiar voice works on us

Kimberly Hyun is an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Cincinnati. She studies how a person's voice shapes persuasion. Fortune says her research finds that when a voice sounds like someone we know, we tend to drop our defenses and believe what we hear.

A family member's voice "can actually trick you through trust," Hyun said.

What to do

Hyun's main tip is a safe word. Agree on a code word with your loved ones that only you know. "You really need to create a safe code with your loved ones. Make sure that they're real," she said.

She also says to be careful with calls from unknown numbers. If someone says a family member is in trouble, don't stay on the line. "You just need to hang up and just call your family member again," Hyun told Fortune.

If you're targeted, Fortune says to report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also report it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Source: Fortune