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Ask Sensei: Is That ‘Emergency’ Call Real or an AI Scam?
Published on November 1, 2025
Sensei,
Something happened last night and I can’t shake it. I got a call from an unknown number, and when I answered, I heard my daughter’s voice, crying and hysterical. She said she’d been in a car accident and was in trouble, and then a man got on the line and said he had her and demanded money.
I was about to do whatever he asked, my heart was in my throat, but then my actual daughter walked in the front door from soccer practice, perfectly safe.
I’m sick to my stomach. I feel like I just lived a nightmare. It sounded exactly like her.
How did they get her voice, and how am I supposed to know what’s real anymore?
— Scared by a Sound
Sensei’s Response:
Scared by a Sound,
Let’s be clear: your reaction was not an overreaction. It was the correct and natural response to what you perceived as a direct threat to your child. The terror and sickness you feel are justified. You have just experienced a new and vicious form of psychological attack, one that is specifically designed to bypass logic and weaponize your love for your family against you. You didn’t fail a test; you were targeted by a predator using cutting-edge technology.
Now, let’s deconstruct what happened. The nightmare you lived is a growing threat known as an AI Voice Cloning Scam.
Phase 1: The Weapon (The Cloned Voice)
You are asking how they got her voice. The terrifying answer is that it’s easy. A scammer only needs a few seconds of audio to create a convincing digital clone. This audio can come from a public TikTok or Instagram video, a Facebook story, or even a hacked voicemail. The AI analyzes the pitch, tone, and cadence, and can then make it “say” anything the scammer types—including crying and screaming for help.
Phase 2: The Goal (The Panic-Action Loop)
The scammer’s entire strategy relies on speed and panic. The man who got on the line immediately demanded money, right? This is intentional. They are creating an “emotional kidnapping” to short-circuit your logical brain. They must keep you on their phone line, in a state of terror, and prevent you from doing the one thing that would expose the scam: hanging up and calling your daughter directly. Your daughter walking in the door was a fortunate accident; we must create a defense that doesn’t rely on luck.
Phase 3: The Defense (The Proactive Solution)
You can’t trust your ears anymore, so you must trust a system. The solution is to create a “firewall” that this kind of emotional attack cannot bypass. I recommend two layers of defense, which you should discuss with your entire family tonight.
1. The “Callback” Rule: This is your primary defense. If you ever receive a call you suspect is an AI voice scam—or even one from a known number that feels “off”—your response is always the same: Hang up immediately. Then, you call your loved one directly on their trusted phone number. If they don’t answer, call their friend, their spouse, or another family member. A real emergency will still be an emergency in 30 seconds. A scam falls apart the moment you break contact.
2. The Family Safe Word: This is your secondary, and most powerful, defense. Choose a secret word or phrase with your family that is not a pet’s name, a birthday, or anything discoverable on social media. It should be random and memorable (e.g., “Red Cactus,” “Apollo’s Bicycle”). This is your “duress code.” In a real emergency, you can ask for it. A scammer will never know it. If the caller can’t provide the safe word, it is 100% a scam, no matter how real their voice sounds.
You feel vulnerable right now, but you have uncovered a critical gap in your family’s modern defenses. You’ve now seen the attack. You are no longer an unsuspecting target; you are a prepared defender. Implement this system, and you will regain that feeling of control.