The terrifying truth of virtual kidnapping schemes, which use AI to clone voices and distort audio to trick victims into thinking their loved ones have been taken, is revealed by Jennifer DeStefano’s horrific experience. As a result, victims suffer enormous financial losses. 

Jennifer DeStefano received a terrifying phone call one day as she arrived at a dance studio where her daughter was rehearsing. The caller claimed to have kidnapped her older daughter and demanded a $1 million ransom. The voice on the phone sounded like her daughter’s, causing DeStefano to panic. The caller threatened to harm her daughter and described explicit details. After a chaotic series of events and a frantic search for her daughter, it was revealed that the kidnapping was a scam using altered audio and cloned voices. This virtual kidnapping scheme, made possible by artificial intelligence (AI), has become more sophisticated and believable, leading to significant financial losses for victims. 

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/29/us/ai-scam-calls-kidnapping-cec/index.html