If you’re reading this, something worth knowing just happened.
TODAY’S TECH ALERT
Cloned and conned
This alert is sponsored by Incogni. More on what Incogni can do for you below.*
Image: ChatGPT/Kim Komando
⚡ TL;DR:
AI voice cloning scams are exploding. But the technology isn’t the real story.
Before scammers can fake your daughter’s voice, they need her name, your number and your relationship. They got all of it from a data broker file built on your family.
Here’s how to close that door.
📖 Read time: 2 minutes
The call came in the middle of the afternoon. A Bay Area mom picked up and heard her daughter’s voice. Panicked. Crying. She’d been grabbed. Someone needed money, or they weren’t letting her go.
The mom wired thousands of dollars. Her daughter was fine. She was at work the whole time.
The voice was AI-generated. Convincing enough to fool a mother. And this is happening to families all across the country.
🤔 Here’s the question nobody’s asking
Everyone’s focused on the voice clone technology. I get it. It’s terrifying. But the technology is just the weapon. Before a scammer can make that call, they need the ammunition.
They need to know your name. Your daughter’s name. That she’s your daughter. Your phone number. Her voice samples. Your city. Your family structure.
Every single piece of that information is sitting in a data broker file. Right now. Available for purchase.
Data brokers compile your personal details from public records, social media, app data, loyalty programs and purchase histories. They bundle it into a profile and sell it to marketers, insurance companies, recruiters and anyone else willing to pay. There are no background checks on buyers. There is no list of approved uses. The file exists, and it gets sold.
Your profile almost certainly includes your name, home address, phone number, relatives’ names, their relationships to you, your approximate income and your property records. All of it searchable. All of it packaged. Some of it sold for pennies.
🔒 What you can do
First: Set up a family code word today. Pick something random that only your family knows. If someone calls claiming to be your daughter and can’t say the word, hang up immediately and call her directly. The scam runs on panic. A code word kills the panic.
Second: Remove yourself from data broker files. Incogni sends removal requests on your behalf and demands they delete your information. Name, address, relatives, relationships, all of it. Brokers push back, but Incogni follows up. You don’t have to do a thing.
Here’s what people miss: A voice clone is scary, but it’s nothing without the data behind it. Scammers use broker files to know exactly who you are, who you love and how to reach you. That’s the real blueprint behind every targeted attack.
✅ Don’t let them buy your information. Protect your circle for 60% off with code KIM60.
🗣️ TEXT/POST THIS STAT: Before scammers can clone your kid’s voice to fake a kidnapping, they need the name, your phone number and your relationship to them. Scammers buy that from a data broker. It costs them pennies. It’s costing families thousands. GetKim.com
📩 Send this to someone who has a parent who would wire money in a panic.
Photo credit(s): ChatGPT/Kim Komando
Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement on behalf of our sponsor, Incogni. I only partner with brands that I personally use or believe provide significant value to my community.