Generally, technological advances tend to have two sides. A friendly one that promises surprising progress, and another that warns of the risks generated by its inappropriate use, if not directly criminal or criminal. Something that can usually be seen in the form of phishing or scams through mobile devices.
A danger that has now focused its attention on voice cloning. What exactly is this and how can you protect yourself from impersonation scams?
The risks of voice cloning
Basically, voice cloning is what the name suggests. That is to say, a technological process that allows imitating a person’s voice in a practically indistinguishable way. By collecting existing voice recordings and analyzing vocal patterns, voice cloning systems can generate convincing replicas of the way a person speaks.
A technological novelty that, as it could not be otherwise, has aroused the interest of cybercriminals, who have seen in it a most efficient way to deceive and scam anyone. Its possibilities, in this sense, are enormous. Especially since technology allows voice cloning from just a few seconds of recording.
According to McAfee Labs, this type of scam is not something that can happen in the future, but is already the order of the day, using the possibilities of artificial intelligence. Many people, in fact, have serious problems distinguishing a cloned voice from that of the original person they are trying to imitate.
Naturally, scammers can use cloned voices to deceive individuals, companies or even government institutions, requesting confidential information or carrying out fraudulent transactions. But also manipulate all types of multimedia content, to the point of creating false or defamatory speeches that seemed authentic.
How to avoid voice cloning scams?
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Voice cloning has therefore made it necessary to take measures when acting on the Internet and, if necessary, also with the people around you.
Without going any further, experts warn of the importance of verifying identity when receiving calls or voice messages requesting confidential information or data. That is, do not rely solely on voice as a means of authentication.
It is also important to be aware of where and how voice recordings are stored. Limit access to these recordings and use trusted platforms and servicesalthough sometimes this is easier to say than to put into practice, in a world as connected in every sense as the current one.
Since voice cloning can affect anyone, it doesn’t hurt either create verbal keys or codes with your most intimate contactsto ensure that the voice that is contacting you really corresponds to that person.
This being the case, a change in mentality seems inevitable. Soon it will no longer be enough to hear someone’s voice to assume that it is that individual who is speaking to you. Distrusting what you hear will become practically inevitable.
