New App Launches to Help Families Spot AI Voice Scams

A new security app called Savi is launching for iPhone and Android devices to help protect consumers from increasingly realistic AI scams. These scams include frightening scenarios like fake kidnappers using AI to clone voices and demand ransom. The company behind Savi just raised $7 million in seed funding and is releasing the app on Tuesday. This matters to every family with a phone. AI voice cloning scams have become more sophisticated. Criminals can use short audio clips from social media or voicemails to create convincing fake voices. They then call family members pretending to be a loved one in distress, asking for money. Parents, grandparents, and anyone with family members are potential targets. These scams prey on our natural instinct to help family in emergency situations.

To protect yourself starting now, take these steps.

1. Download the Savi app when it becomes available on Tuesday if you want an extra layer of protection.
2. Establish a family code word that only your immediate family knows, to verify identity in emergency calls.
3. If you receive a distressing call from a family member, hang up and call them back directly at their known number.
4. Never send money or gift cards based solely on a phone call, no matter how convincing it sounds.
5. Warn elderly family members about these scams, as they are often targeted. Make skepticism your default for urgent requests over the phone. Always verify through a second method of contact. Teach your children and elderly relatives about these scams. Limit what personal information and voice recordings you share publicly on social media. The more audio of your voice available online, the easier it is for scammers to clone it. Stay calm and verify before you act on any emergency request for money.