With Artificial Intelligence (AI) breaking ground on the way we work and communicate, scammers are also getting a huge advantage, along with new tools. There has been an increasing number of voice-cloning frauds that impersonate a manager or even a relative, with such precision that it leaves people horrified. How did they manage to achieve this? The answer is AI, and it is slowly changing the way scam calls are made. And the most horrible thing of it all? It is usually too late before you realize you have been targeted.
Yet what would happen in case you were able to see the red flags even before you utter the word “hello”? Nick Kalinin, Product Manager at cloud-based call center MightyCall shares the most revealing details that this is an AI-enabled scam call, which are visible even before you answer, so that they could help you avoid losing any finances.
1. The Caller ID Looks Legit… but Something’s Off
With the help of spoofing, fraudsters can use caller ID to display numbers of people that they know or that look official, such as a local bank, police station, or even a family member. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), spoofed calls have cost us more than $1.1 billion in 2023 alone, but most victims were not aware of such spoofing until after sensitive information or money had been given away.
“AI tools now allow fraudsters to imitate not only voices but even patterns of how institutions communicate with you, ” Nick Kalinin says. “If the number appears to be genuine, consider it suspicious even when you have not called the person.”
Always be aware of unusual formats such as a series of zeros, international prefixes you do not recognize, or numbers nearly the same as your own.
2. The Timing Feels Calculated
AI-enabled scammers are not just making blind calls anymore as they are becoming more sophisticated to time their calls with behavioral data. For example, making a call in the middle of work time when you are not fully concentrated or in the morning when you may still be sleepy.
New data by Westpac has revealed that, for Australians, 80% of scams happen between 12 pm and 11 pm, and 85% of them are committed during the weekdays. Remote access scam (29%), investment scam (20%), and buying and selling scam (13%) are the most popular scams to hit customers at 4 pm.
“These calls happen when you are least expecting them,” Kalinin explains. “That is not a coincidence; AI is fully capable of optimizing time using leaked information or patterns.”
3. Silent Voicemails or One-Ring Hang-Ups
An emerging form is called “pinging” your number to see whether it is active. Fraudsters can either keep it on a ring and disconnect it or leave an empty voicemail. By calling back, you might incur an international call that would cost you a lot of money or expose you to more targeting.“A lot of AI scams begin with automating verification of your number. When you call back because you want to know who it is, they will know you are real-and now you are on a hot list,” warns Kalinin.
4. You Get a Call from an Area Code
You’ve Never SeenThe AI robocall systems currently cycle through low-risk area codes to evade the carrier spam filters. When you receive calls in far-away areas or in a foreign nation, and you do not have contacts there, that is a red flag. If this comes together with odd hours or a lack of voicemail, then you have probably an AI-generated fake up your sleeves.
5. You’re Greeted by Silence and Then a Voice
Other AI scam calls start with a short pause or silence, after which they will say either: “Can you hear me?” or “Hi, this is [Name]”. That is the awkward pause as the AI system attempts to figure out whether or not a human has answered.“It’s a trick to make you engage,” Kalinin explains. “Even saying ‘yes’ can be taped, and this can be used to sanction fraud in the future.”
6. The Voice Sounds Too Real
And when you do answer, beware of voices that seem to be familiar, or that are usually perfect. AI voice generators can imitate a particular individual, accent, and emotion. Other times, identity thieves impersonate your loved ones by using actual social media videos or stolen audio.
According to a McAfee survey, out of 7,000 respondents, 1 in 4 had encountered an AI-generated voice scam, either personally or through someone they know.“We have experienced AI voice scams when the callers cry, beg to help, or pretend to be family members in need,” says Kalinin. “When it comes off as emotionally manipulative and surprising, hang up and check it out yourself.”
7. The Caller Makes Urgent Requests Without Context
A lot of scam calls do not bother with the formalities and go directly to emotional blackmail or intimidation:
- “Your account has been compromised.”
- “You owe back taxes – pay now or face arrest.”
- “Your grandchild is in jail – send bail.”
These urgent messages are often in combination with a cloned voice or an official-sounding tone to drive the victims into making hasty decisions.“The top red flag is urgency. The real institutions do not require anything as soon as you take a phone,” Kalinin emphasizes.
8. The Call Is Followed by a Text or Email
Other scammers will use AI voice calls with phishing SMS or spoofing emails. When you do not answer an unknown phone and get a suspicious text message saying that it is the “same company”, it is probably a scam chain organized by an AI.“AI systems can send multi-channel follow-ups including text, email, even chatbots,” says Kalinin. “The aim is to reinforce the lie and get you to click or comply.”
How to Protect Yourself
- Do not pick up the phone when you do not know the number of the caller and send it to voicemail.
- You can not trust caller ID, even though it may appear to be someone you know.
- Check by yourself by calling companies or relatives.
- Apply call filtering and spam protection apps (such as Hiya, Truecaller, or your carrier’s products).Report scams to the FTC or local government.
“It is not only that AI makes scam calls sound more real, but it also makes scam calls almost indistinguishable from reality,” Kalinin warns. “That’s why, by understanding what to expect before you reply, you can keep yourself, and your voice, out of harm’s way.”
Scam calls are no longer a nuisance; they are becoming more and more advanced with AI that can now convincingly replicate human behavior, voices, and authority. However, with the early warning signs, you can stay one step ahead. So the next time your phone rings unexpectedly, pause, and ask yourself: Is this real?
MightyCall is a cloud-based communication platform built to give small and mid-sized businesses the same advanced tools once reserved for large enterprises. Founded by telecom veterans, the company’s mission is to democratize call center technology, making it simple, affordable, and flexible for teams of any size.
