How criminals are using AI to clone victims' voices and set up direct debits

"The scam begins with fraudsters luring victims into a "lifestyle survey" phone call, designed to extract personal, health, and financial details. This information is then used to create AI-generated voice clones, simulating consent for direct debits. These clones facilitate payments with banks and other legitimate financial providers without the victim's knowledge, NTS added. Victims often did not realise payments were being taken, it warned."

"Louise Baxter, head of the NTS scams team, said: What we're seeing is a deeply disturbing combination of old and new: traditional phone scams supported by disturbing new techniques. Criminals are using AI not just to deceive victims, but to trick legitimate systems into processing fraudulent payments. This is no longer just a nuisance it's a co-ordinated, sophisticated operation targeting some of the most situationally vulnerable consumers in society. We urge everyone to speak to friends and relatives about scam calls, check bank statements regularly and report anything suspicious."

"NTS said it blocked almost 21 million scam phone calls and shut down 2,000 numbers in a six-month period (PA Wire) Latest figures from NTS suggests that UK adults now receive an average of seven scam calls or texts per month, with about one in five (21 per cent) receiving them most days and 9 per cent receiving them every day. NTS said it blocked almost 21 million scam phone calls and shut down 2,000 numbers in a six-month period."

Criminals are using AI-generated voice clones to commit direct-debit fraud by phone, often targeting older people. Scammers lure victims with "lifestyle survey" calls to collect personal, health, and financial information. Fraudsters use that data to produce voice clones that simulate consent for direct debits, enabling payments to be processed by banks and other legitimate financial providers without victims' knowledge. Victims frequently do not notice the unauthorized payments. National Trading Standards reported blocking almost 21 million scam calls and shutting down 2,000 numbers in six months, while UK adults receive an average of seven scam calls or texts monthly.

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