Iowans are being warned to be very careful when posting videos of themselves on social media.
Jim Temmer, with the Better Business Bureau, says criminals are using audio from online videos to fake people’s voices in scam calls.
Temmer says, “If you put anything out there that has your voice in it, not very long, it’s something like 8 or 10 seconds, they can use software then to generate your voice saying anything.”
Scammers are banking on people’s trust of you to trick them into other scams, he says, like sending money transfers or giving up personal information.
Temmer says, “A friend of yours, a relative, gets a call from you saying, ‘Hey, I’m in trouble. I need some help right now,’ and it not only sounds like you, but scammers also have the ability to spoof phone numbers.”
The best way to prevent this from happening is to only share your videos with your friends and family, and Temmer warns, keep a close eye on friend requests to make sure they’re not from phony accounts.