Avery County Sheriff Warns of AI Voice Cloning Scam Targeting Families - WataugaOnline.com
AI voice cloning is being used to impersonate family members in scams, targeting parents with urgent requests for money, according to the Avery County Sheriff's Office.
- Incident date
- Apr 2026
- Target
- Families in Avery County
The Avery County Sheriff's Office issued a warning about scammers using AI voice-cloning technology to impersonate family members in order to steal money. The office recently received a report of a victim contacted by someone using AI to clone the voice of their son.
What happened
The caller used personal details, including the son's background and schools attended, to make the situation sound convincing and urgent, while attempting to obtain a large sum of money. Scams like this are targeting parents of college-aged students across the country. The emotional realism of the cloned voices, combined with high-pressure tactics, can make these situations feel real and alarming.