The FBI is warning about AI voice-cloning scams — agree on a family code word now

The FBI warned again in 2026 about scams that use AI to clone a familiar voice. A criminal takes a few seconds of audio from social media, then calls a parent or grandparent sounding exactly like their child or grandchild — in tears, in an accident, or "arrested" — and demands money immediately by wire, gift card or crypto. Older adults are targeted hardest: Americans aged 60+ reported $7.7 billion in fraud losses in a single year.

The whole scam depends on panic and speed. The voice sounds real because it is real — cloned — so you cannot rely on recognising it.

What to do: the FBI's core advice is to hang up and call the person back on a number you already have before doing anything. Watch for the tells — pressure to act instantly, odd pauses in the voice, and any demand for gift cards or cryptocurrency. A simple, powerful extra step that consumer groups recommend: agree a family "safe word" now, so a real emergency call can be verified in one question and a fake one falls apart.

This is a human scam, not a malware one, so the fix is a conversation — especially with the older relatives in your life. If you help family remotely, Tendvane's plain-language checks and one-click fixes are designed for exactly that: something a non-technical person can run themselves while you are on the phone.