AI Voice Cloning Scams Hit Lawrence: What You Need to Know - City of Lawrence, Kansas (.gov)
AI voice cloning scams are on the rise, even in Lawrence, Kansas. Scammers use cloned voices to impersonate family members and demand money. Learn how to protect yourself.
- Incident date
- Feb 2026
- Target
- Woman's mother
A recent incident in Lawrence, Kansas, highlights the growing threat of AI voice cloning scams. A woman received a call where she believed her mother was in danger, only to discover it was a sophisticated hoax using AI to mimic her mother's voice.
What happened
The woman received a call from what appeared to be her mother's phone number. The caller claimed to have a gun to her mother's head and demanded money. The woman's brother received a similar call. Police were alerted and used a shared location app to track the mother's phone, leading to a high-risk vehicle stop. Ultimately, the mother was found safe, and the occupants of the vehicle were not involved in the scam. The incident underscores how scammers can use AI to clone voices from publicly available audio clips and then use spoofing technology to make the call appear legitimate. They then impersonate the person and make an emergency plea, demanding immediate payment via untraceable methods.