Here’s how I used AI to clone a 60 Minutes correspondent’s voice to trick a colleague into handing over Sharyn's passport number. I cloned Sharyn’s voice then manipulated the caller ID to show Sharyn’s name on the caller ID with a spoofing tool.
The hack took 5 minutes total for me to steal the sensitive information.

So, how do we protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our organizations?
1. Make sure the people around you know that caller ID is easily faked (spoofed) and that voices can also be easily impersonated.
2. If they receive a dire call from “you”, verify it’s really you with another method of communication (text, DM, FT, call, etc) before taking an action (like sending money). Kind of like human MFA.

Some suggest setting up a secret “verification word” with their folks ones so that if someone impersonates & demands money/access etc you can ask for the verification word to see if it’s a real crisis. This won’t work for all people but could work for some. If it’s a match, use it.

In general, I recommend keeping advice simple: if premise of call is dire use a 2nd method of communication to confirm a person is in trouble before taking action (like wiring money or sensitive data). Rapid text, email, DM, have others message repeatedly — before wiring money.

Bottom line is:
Scammers use urgency & fear to convince victims to take actions (like sending money, data, etc).
If premise of a call, text, email, or DM is too dire (or too good to be true), that’s a likely scam.
Use a 2nd method of communication to check it’s real before taking action!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-digital-theft-targets-people-from-millennials-to-seniors-60-minutes-2023-05-21/

Digital theft demonstration: Ethical hacker scams 60 Minutes employee

Anybody can be hacked, even those who are tech-savvy. An ethical hacker targeted a 60 Minutes employee to show how easy it is to scam people.

CBS News
@racheltobac
Listen, dammit, if you don't leave a little awesome for the rest of us, how are we all supposed to get by out here? 🤣🤣🤣

@racheltobac

Great post, great post! Thabk you, well done.

@racheltobac Bravo, you ethical hacker, you. Nice job! 🥂
@racheltobac Watching that, and how the recent bank runs were done (electronic transfers), I was thinking that it might be a good thing to pre-exchange routing and account numbers with those who we would instantly bankroll in an actual emergency (including the grandkids).
@wndlb @racheltobac I'd have thought that the more people you give that information to, the more vulnerable you are to having that information get into the wrong hands.

@racheltobac every time I hear about this it makes me think of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

On it Sarah and Jon use the date of judgement day as a Code to know it's them and not a Terminator on the phone. I always thought it was badass now I see it was prophetic, better be the only thing they got right lol

@racheltobac the first thing is I suppose I can't imagine a situation where friend/family would actually need passport/DL/SSN etc for any legitimate reason unless it's my Nigerian prince boyfriend threatening to out me to my wife.
Also, no one but my parents or actual kids would call me, and that's if texts failed to come thru, so that helps
@racheltobac Much respect and appreciation for white-hat hackers! 👍✌️Sucks that there are so many of the bad kind 😡👎
@racheltobac Damn, this is pretty terrifying. Especially since over a telephone, the fake voice accuracy doesn't have to be that great.
@racheltobac can you detail a bit the hacking process? you know, for educational purposes and all. The ai part is probably not interesting to most, I imagine the most interesting ones would be caller ID spoofing, along with related stuff, aka showing why sms based verification is flawed.
@racheltobac
"I'll call you right back, okay?"
While caller ID can easily be spoofed, rerouting calls back is far harder. And it's just a natural thing to teach to others: take a minute to grab your notes, call back instead of doing what is asked right away.
Great demo!

@racheltobac @osma
The video is on YouTube here for any who are geoblocked from viewing it on the website.

Great story, thanks for sharing!
☝️😊✌️

https://youtu.be/U2r1MJk85Zo

Cyber scammers target parents, grandparents for digital theft | 60 Minutes

YouTube
@dgar @racheltobac @osma it's geoblocked on YouTube too. (I am in Canada, it's just the natural order)

@dgar @osma @hub @racheltobac

Here it is on a good (at least from Italy) Invidious instance.
If it doesn't work try to switch to another instance.

https://yt.floss.media/watch?v=U2r1MJk85Zo

@racheltobac very… erm… educational.
@racheltobac I think you reach the right person at the right moment… I am in a meeting discussing standardisation of requirements in the EU AI Act, and we just reach the cybersecurity topic and was missing example of concrete threats…
Terminator 2 John Connor's Parents Scene

YouTube
@racheltobac Love the enthusiasm when showing it ^^'
Tech is cool and it's fun to educate ppl =)
@racheltobac Wow, good one. I would have loved being an ethical hacker in another life.
@racheltobac This is incredibly clever and scary. I consider myself relatively savvy about scamming, but I would totally be fooled by that.
@racheltobac Fortunately, scam calls aren't typically done by people who are that tech-savvy, as most tech-savvy people can legitimately make money by being, you know, tech-savvy. Still, AI does allow for more sophisticated scam artists to impersonate people. So, while we shouldn't be too terrified of AI, just know that there will be increasing calls for regulation, with some people having legitimate concerns and others taking it overboard.
@racheltobac it’s not “ai” it’s not aware of its actions. It’s a fancy script.
@racheltobac
Yes, a 2nd mode of communication can work well, but I imagine often the story will be something like "I lost everything and I have no other means of communication"
So it seems like a good idea to think of random security questions on the spot, which you are pretty sure only they know. Like when did you last see me, or who came over for Christmas. Whatever, just stuff that will make you know it's them.
@racheltobac Thanks for this important and timely story... and thanks for what you do, Rachel...
@racheltobac @cardamomaddict behold AI the new gun of info theft and more, I forsee legislation soon to be passed preventing any lawsuits against companies who make AIs for the horrible things done with their products
@racheltobac Even faster build than Q in ‘Diamonds are Forever’ (1971) {“Built [a voice changer box] last Christmas for the Grandkids.“}
😎😀😇
@racheltobac Love this. Thanks for sharing. I’m going to include this in an update of the IS textbook that I write. You’re a role model. Keep keeping us safe!
@racheltobac wait was this just on again tonight? Was in a noisy restaurant but that screenshot is what I saw....
@reswob yes they just re aired it!
@racheltobac We have a family password. Do you?

@racheltobac @juliewebgirl

We had a Vivid Discussion™ at The Lodge the other night about this very thing. An InfoSec buddy's parents got spearfished. Thankfully $Mom called $Buddy before the shits could begin moving things.

Another buddy (CTO, big company) got phished and gave them his 2FA just a few years back. That ended much less good. (10k vanished... What I got back reverse engineering was pocket change.)

So, measure three times, and ask for verification.

Be Careful.

@racheltobac Telcos are failing us by allowing number spoofing to continue. This really has to stop.