71-year-old Houstonian loses $15K to AI voice cloning scam: 'It sounded exactly like my son' -…
A 71-year-old Houston man lost $15,000 in an AI voice cloning scam where fraudsters impersonated his son, claiming he had been arrested and needed bail money.
- Incident date
- Sep 2025
- Target
- Charles Lafkoff
A Houston man was recently scammed out of $15,000 by fraudsters using AI voice cloning technology. The scammers impersonated his son, convincing him that his son was in legal trouble and needed immediate financial assistance.
What happened
Charles Lafkoff, 71, received a phone call from someone sounding exactly like his son, claiming he had been arrested for DUI and had hit a pregnant woman. He then received a call from someone claiming to be Michael Steele from the Harris County Public Defender's office, who said his son's bond was set at $15,000. The scammer directed Lafkoff to deposit the money through a Coinme machine. After Steele requested more money, Lafkoff grew suspicious and contacted the Public Defender's Office, discovering that no one by the name of Michael Steele worked there. Lafkoff contacted Coinme the same day, wanting his funds frozen, but didn't hear back until days later. Coinme stated that the funds were removed within minutes of the transaction.