How do you know if the person on the other end of the phone is really them?
In early July, Ferrari executives were inundated with WhatsApp messages that appeared to be from their boss, the carmaker's CEO, Benedetto Vigna. But they didn't recognize the numbers and weren't sure if the calls were really from their boss.
Though suspicious of the flood of messages from a number they didn't recognize, a Ferrari executive picked up the phone with someone claiming to be Vigna. The purported CEO had the same Southern Italian accent as Vigna, but the executive still felt something was amiss and asked the caller about something only Vigna would know: something the two had discussed privately a few days earlier.
“Sorry, Mr. Benedetto, we need to verify your identity,” the executive said, and the call was abruptly hung up, averting a potentially massive fraud, as Bloomberg reported earlier this year.
If you think Ferrari's executives are a rare exception to the rule for scammers, think again. For as long as the telephone has been around, people have been trying to trick people into believing they are someone else. As in the attempt against Ferrari, voice AI tools allow scammers to replicate someone's voice and trick victims into believing they're speaking to someone else.
These attacks all involve the phone – picking up the phone. Once you pick up the phone, the scammer or fraudster will use tactics to pressure you into high-stress situations and coerce you into acting quickly and hastily.
You've probably already heard of some of these scams.
The police (or the federal government) will not call you and claim that you have a “warrant out for your arrest” or ask for money to void the warrant. If there is a warrant out for your arrest, the police will not leave a threatening voicemail. They will come to your house.
Healthcare providers are unlikely to ask for payment over the phone without first sending a letter or paper bill. According to the FBI, health care fraud can happen to anyone and can range from scammers impersonating health care providers to scams that charge you for the balance of a bill that doesn't exist.
And yes, you should indeed be wary of anyone calling you from your bank, your workplace, or an online technology company asking you to “verify your personal information” or hand over a security code that has been sent to your mobile phone.
The alternative is to stop picking up the phone – wait, identify and then respond.
Some scams are more advanced than others, including spoofing to appear as a real phone number on caller ID and using AI tools to manipulate a person's voice. This is sometimes called a “deep fake.” Scammers often pose as a close family member in need to elicit a reaction or response. If you think you know who is calling but aren't entirely sure, there may be a good reason. Trust your instincts and be cautious.
Consider the case of the Ferrari near miss: Over the phone, Ferrari executives asked the self-proclaimed CEO a question only the real boss would know: the title of a book the two had discussed a few days earlier. In smaller cases, some friends and family members may have an agreed-upon safe word or phrase they can use if they need to prove they are who they say they are. (Going a step further, having an alternative phrase to use only if the victim is speaking under duress can help alert others to an unsafe or dangerous situation.)
If someone calls you out of the blue and asks for your information, how do you know if it's a legitimate person on the other end of the line? All you have to rely on is the caller's phone number, and sometimes you don't know those numbers.
If your bank is calling you, call the number on your bank card to verify it yourself.
If you receive a call from a company or organization that looks familiar and asks for suspicious information, hang up and visit the organization's website or official app to call them back directly. Don't rely solely on Google searches to find phone numbers, as scammers can trick search engines into showing fake customer service phone numbers operated by scammers.
If you receive a call saying that someone has logged into your online account, check it yourself by visiting the online account's website or app before taking any further action. Most companies, such as Google and Facebook, don't make phone calls but use their official customer support portal.
Be like the Ferrari executives: take a moment to breathe, think, take control of the situation, and the next time the call comes in, just let it go to voicemail.