AI voice scam traps mom in 5-hour kidnapping nightmare
I want you to think about the voice of someone you love.You know how that person sounds when they're laughing, and you also know the voice you would hear if they were terrified.
So what would you do if your phone rang and you heard that voice begging you for help? That's what happened to Deborah Del Mastro.I recently sat down with Deborah on The CyberGuy Report podcast to hear her tell this story in her own words.Even after everything she has been through, you can hear how deeply the experience still affects her.
Months after the scam, she also told a U.S.Senate committee that she remained "completely traumatized."The California mother and Navy veteran was having breakfast with her husband when a local number appeared on her phone.
The man on the other end claimed a Mexican drug cartel had taken her 37-year-old daughter Sarah.Then Deborah heard the voice that made the threat feel terrifyingly real.
"It's my daughter's voice," she told me."And she's having a panic attack."For the next five and a half hours, the caller threatened Deborah and her family, sent her and her husband from place to place and demanded thousands of dollars.
What Deborah didn't know was that the story unfolding on the phone was very different from what was actually happening to Sarah.Join us for a free CyberGuy LIVE class.Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson shares practical ways to stay safer, smarter and more confident with technology.Explore classes on stopping spam, phone security, financial protection and using AI to get better healthcare.
Each class is free, easy to follow and comes with a free printable checklist.See the classes and register at CyberGuyLive.comTHE FAMILY GROUP CHAT IS A GOLDMINE FOR SCAMMERSDeborah Del Mastro, left, and her daughter Sarah, whose voice Deborah says sounded exactly like the one she heard during the kidnapping scam.(Deborah Del Mastro)The call started strangely enough.
"I get a local phone call, my area code," Deborah told me.When she answered, the man asked, "...