In this episode of Office Hours, I’m talking about an AI safety issue that’s affecting a lot of people. Scams. Specifically, AI voice cloning. Just two years ago, if a bad actor wanted to clone your voice, they needed hours of pristine, recorded audio and deep technical expertise to train a model. That barrier is officially gone. Today, the tools are cheap, free, and widely available to anyone with an internet connection. An AI tool needs almost nothing from you to work. In just a few seconds, it can master your pitch, your rhythm, your accent, and even the way you laugh. It can then generate entirely new sentences in your voice—things you have never said, sounding exactly like you. “But I’m too smart to get scammed...” We’ve all heard the horror stories: a parent gets a call from their kid who sounds distressed, or a grandparent gets a frantic call from a grandchild. Honestly, if I got a phone call right now, heard my kid’s voice on the line saying, “Mommy, I need you right now, I’m in trouble,” I’d freak out. It doesn’t matter how tech-savvy or smart you are, when adrenaline and love kick in, logic goes out the window. The scammers aren’t trying to impersonate you to get to you. They impersonate the people you love most. Your teenager on TikTok, your partner, or your friends. Older adults are being disproportionately targeted, but this applies to everyone. The good news: there are 5 free things you can do today. Most of them take less than 5 minutes to implement. 1. Establish a family code word This is one of the best defences available, and it is entirely non-technical. Sit down with your family and agree on a secret code word or phrase. * The rule: It shouldn’t be something easily guessable, like a pet’s name or a birthday. * The execution: If anyone in your family ever receives a frantic distress call or a bizarre financial request from a loved one, the immediate response is: “Okay, honey, what’s the code word?” If they don’t know it, you know it’s an AI. (Make sure to repeat and practice it so younger kids or older relatives don’t forget it!) 2. Survive the callback If a loved one calls you from an unknown number asking for help or money, tell them: “I’m going to call you right back.” * The crucial step: Don’t call back the number they called from, and do not call a number they give you over the phone. Hang up and call them back on the contact number you already have saved for them in your phone. A real emergency can wait 30 seconds for a callback. A scammer’s spoofed line won’t survive it. 3. Treat urgency as a red flag The entire scam business model relies on urgency. Scammers need you to act before you think. They’ll say things like, “Don’t tell Mom,” “Send the money right now,” or “I need you to go to the ATM immediately.” If a caller is putting immense pressure on you to bypass your normal logic, take a deep breath, pause, and assess the situation. 4. Remember the universal rule of payments If there is a real emergency happening in your life, you cannot fix it with gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency. Full stop, universal rule: The police will not ask you for an e-transfer. Lawyers do not accept payment in Apple gift cards. Hospitals do not take Bitcoin. If the proposed solution involves prepaid cards, wire transfers, or crypto, it is a scam. 5. Run a “voice audit” on your family Go to Google and search your name and your kids’ names. Look at what audio and video is publicly accessible out there. Is it a public voicemail greeting? Social media videos? A podcast appearance? A YouTube video (like the one I just made)? Every piece of public audio is potential cloning material. Personally, I don’t put videos or pictures of my kids online at all anymore. I’m an adult and can make that choice for myself, but I’d rather keep my kids off the internet and untracked as long as possible. Data isn’t abstract We need to stop thinking of data as a vague, future privacy concern. Your name, your voice, your face, your relationships, and your daily routines are harvestable right now. I often hear people say, “Who cares? I’m not important enough to be targeted. What do they want with my data?” We are way past that. In the age of automated AI, everyone is a target because the cost to target you has dropped to zero. Caller IDs can be spoofed, photos can be scraped, and voices can be cloned. I don’t say any of this to make you afraid of AI. AI is already woven into the fabric of our lives. It’s in our Netflix recommendations, predictive texting, and our navigation apps. The goal isn’t fear, it’s AI literacy. Literacy means understanding the risks and knowing what’s possible so that you can spot when something is off. Set up a code word, do a voice audit, and have this conversation with your family before you need to, not after. What are your thoughts? Have you or a family member encountered a suspicious call recently? What strategies do you use to keep your data secure? Let’s talk in the comments. If you want to start teaching your kids or students how to navigate this world safely, head over to AILiteracyGuide.com for free activities, resources, and guides. See you next week on Office Hours! Get full access to Human+AI at nicolleweeks.substack.com/subscribe
