Marilyn Crawford voice deepfake — Sep 2026
A scammer used AI voice cloning to impersonate a woman's grandson in a distress call, attempting to extort $9,000 by claiming he was in police custody
- Reported date
- Sep 25, 2026
- Target
- Marilyn Crawford
The exact incident date was not established. This entry is dated by its source report.
Marilyn Crawford was targeted by a sophisticated AI voice cloning scam that attempted to extort $9,000 by impersonating her grandson in a fake emergency. The incident highlights the growing danger of synthetic audio being used to manipulate victims through emotional distress.
What happened
The attack began early one morning when Marilyn received a call from an individual posing as a local police officer. The caller claimed that her grandson had been taken into custody for allegedly stealing a car. To heighten the urgency and credibility of the situation, the scammer utilized AI voice cloning technology to allow the "grandson" to speak directly to Marilyn, pleading for her assistance.
To facilitate the extortion, the scammer went as far as sending a taxi to Marilyn's location to transport her to the bank to withdraw the requested $9,000. The scheme was only thwarted when a bank teller became suspicious after hearing the details of the situation and intervened, preventing the transfer of funds.