- One in four Americans report receiving deepfake voice calls in the past twelve months
- Spam calls are increasing rapidly, averaging almost ten unwanted calls per week
- AI enables fraudsters to clone voices with minimal effort now
New research has raised serious concerns about the rise of deepfake voice fraud, as more consumers report encountering suspicious calls impersonating familiar voices.
A new survey of over 12,000 consumers by Hiya in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany and Spain suggests that these incidents are no longer rare or isolated.
The report found that one in four Americans received a deeply fake voice call in the past twelve months, and another 24% said they are unsure whether they could reliably distinguish between an artificial voice and a real person during a phone call.
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Spam calls continue to expand
The report claims that the growing availability of generative AI tools has accelerated what it calls the “weaponization of AI.”
“Fraudsters are weaponizing AI to clone voices and steal from vulnerable people, and the bad guys are simply moving faster than legacy network defenses. We can’t expect ordinary people to outsmart AI on their own,” said Alex Algard, CEO and founder of Hiya.
“We’re in an arms race where fraudsters are using AI as a weapon, which means operators need to use AI as a shield.”
Fraudsters now impersonate voices with far less effort than before, and these deep fake impersonation attempts often involve relatives or trusted contacts.
This can lead to financial fraud or identity theft when victims believe they are responding to a legitimate request.
American respondents reported receiving an average of 9.9 unwanted calls each week, which equates to more than 500 calls each year.
These calls target seniors (55+), who lose an average of $1,298, three times more than younger adults – with the scale of this scam increasing at a compound annual rate of 16% since 2023.
About 48% of Americans say spam calls are getting worse, outnumbering those who report improvement by about three to one.
The trend is seen across several countries included in the survey. Consumers across the six markets reported receiving an average of 7.4 unwanted calls per week.
French respondents reported the highest number of unwanted calls, while British respondents reported the highest financial losses among fraud victims.
In all this, what are the telecom operators doing about it? This is the anchor question that consumers have asked.
When asked who is winning the ongoing battle between carriers and fraudsters, respondents chose fraudsters by almost two to one.
This perception can also affect customer loyalty. Some 38% of users say they are likely to switch providers if they feel their current carrier cannot protect them.
Many users (72%) are now calling for stricter government regulations requiring telcos to respond to such AI-powered scams.
Some respondents also believe that airlines should share responsibility for fraud losses arising from their networks.
About 67% of users support some level of financial responsibility, while 55% favor zero liability protections similar to those used by credit card companies.
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