iPhone and Android owners told to ask for the ‘secret ingredient’ on phone call – don’t risk your bank being emptied
ASKING a simple question about a so-called secret ingredient could save you from a devastating and costly phone scam.
Cyber-experts have told The U.S. Sun about a simple but effective scam-busting change to your phone call habits.
It’s a bid to combat a sinister con that uses artificial intelligence to part you from your money.
Experts say criminals are using AI to clone the voice of a victim’s family members, friends, or colleagues – and then using it for fraudulent requests to score easy cash.
A voice can now be cloned using AI in just a few seconds, making the scam increasingly easy to execute.
James McQuiggan, security awareness advocate at KnowBe4, told us that if you’re worried that you’re talking to an AI voice clone, there’s a simple trick to employ.
“Remain calm and ask questions that only the person would know or ask questions that the scammers would not know,” James said, speaking to The U.S. Sun.
“Maybe odd ones like: ‘The dinner you cooked last night was fantastic. What was that secret ingredient?’
“This is based on the fact that they didn’t cook dinner, but the scammer will not know that.
“And will either come up with a bogus response or there will be a long pause as they try to generate a response.”
Using a simple conversational trick like this is an easy way to expose scammers.
And of course you could invent your own question – just make sure the answer is something a scammer could never answer convincingly.
It’s worth thinking up your own variant to this trick so make sure you’re as safe as possible from scammers.
This is a great trick if you’re concerned by an urgent request for money – but there’s some other preparation you can do.
“Another option is to have a passcode or passphrase that must be provided when in doubt,” James told us.
Consider speaking to close friends and family members to set up a codeword.
They didn’t cook dinner, but the scammer will not know that
James McQuiggan
That way you can use it when you’re worried about a strange request on a phone call.
And if all else fails, ask direct questions about shared memories that couldn’t be answered based on info on the internet.
Also consider contacting that person via another method – or checking with them in real life.
It’s a major red flag if they’re asking for huge sums of money, especially using a strange method like gift cards, cryptocurrency, or to a new bank account.
Phone scam statistics
Americans are bombarded with three billion spam phone calls a month. What are the figures regarding the number of victims and the amount of money lost to fraudsters
- In 2022, Americans lost some $39.5 billion to phone scams, with 68.4 million US citizens affected, according to TechReport.
- The average phone scam victim lost $567.41 each in 2021, a major rise on the 2021 figure of $182 per victim, according to Hiya.
- The majority of scams happen over the phone, with fraudsters twice as likely to call compared to text in 2021, as reports the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
- In 2021, the US saw a 56% increase in spam phone calls with 60% of those being robocalls.
- US residents experienced an average of 18 spam phone calls per month, although some experts believe the true figure may be as high as 31 per month.
- Many phone calls from reputable businesses may be marked wrongly as spam, but 38% of companies have no idea whether they’re being marked as “potential fraud” or not, according to Hiya.
- Never hand over any personal or financial information if you suspect a phone call is a scam. For instance, your bank will never ask you for such details in full over the phone.
- To cut down on spam phone calls and scams, sign up for the Do Not Call Registry. Telemarketers, by law, will need to check that list before they call you up.
- Downloading third-party apps such as Hiya, Nomorobo, or Truecaller can help filter out annoying spam calls.
- Try not to share your phone number unless you have to, especially online or with sketchy sources.