Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has warned about the growing threat of AI-powered voice scams after an X user shared a disturbing incident involving a caller who sounded almost exactly like his wife.
The man, who uses the name Abomination on X, said he received a call from someone claiming to be his wife. The caller said she had forgotten her wallet and needed a credit card to pay for gas.
However, there was one major problem. His wife was actually sitting at home with him.
The caller’s voice reportedly sounded “100%” like his wife, although the man noticed that the speech had an unusual rhythm or cadence. He also found the request suspicious because his wife drives a Tesla.
Instead of ending the call immediately, he continued speaking to the caller to understand what was happening. The responses came unusually quickly, making him suspect that the scam may have involved an AI-generated voice or a voice filter.
The incident caught Vembu’s attention. Reacting to the post, the Zoho founder suggested that families create verbal passwords that can be used to verify the identity of callers before sharing money or sensitive information.
Vembu also highlighted the growing difficulty of spotting AI-generated deception, saying that AI has become so advanced that it is no longer easy to distinguish real voices from fake ones.
The incident highlights how scammers can use voice cloning technology to impersonate people known to their targets. Unlike traditional scam calls, such calls can sound highly convincing and may exploit the trust people naturally place in family members.
Experts have repeatedly warned that people should not rely only on a familiar voice to verify a caller. If a relative suddenly asks for money, card details or other sensitive information, it is safer to disconnect and contact them directly using a known phone number.
A simple family code word or verbal password could provide an additional layer of protection against increasingly convincing AI voice scams.
