Houston businessman Gary Cunningham is sounding the alarm after a sophisticated AI voice cloning scam led to the loss of $20,000. Criminals hacked his email and mimicked his voice, duping his accountant into wiring the funds to an unfamiliar bank account.
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Houston businessman Gary Cunningham claims scammers impersonating him using powerful artificial intelligence stole $20,000 in one wire transfer. The plan started in November when his accountant got what sounded like a standard directive from Cunningham to transfer money to a new bank account.
Unknown to Cunningham, his email had been hijacked, and his voice had been cloned. "I felt violated; my accountant felt violated as well," Cunningham said. Later on, he found that criminals had utilized his voice—probably from phone calls or internet recordings—to construct a lifelike copy.
Expert in artificial intelligence Dr. Patrick Dicks claims that as technology develops such situations are becoming more common. "Criminals can record your voice from social media or even in person and clone it to sound just like you," Dicks said.
Only when Cunningham checked his accounts and discovered the money vanished did he understand the fraud was underway. His accountant verified she had spoken with someone who sounded just like him and followed the directions emailed.
"I was on a plane to Chicago when it happened," Cunningham added, stressing the need of more strict cybersecurity policies.
The possibility of getting his money back is farthest from Cunningham’s mind as he wants his story to show how scammers work with modern technology.
"I think that's my job now - to relay this more than it is to get my money," stated.
Cunningham hired a password management business to track and alter his security screens and changed all his passwords and email accounts. He encourages others to follow.
As of writing, the West University Police is investigating the matter as fraud.
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