{"id":83720,"date":"2026-03-16T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/deepfakes-voice-cloning-and-weaponised-ai-global-wake-up-call-to-organised-fraud\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T12:00:00","slug":"deepfakes-voice-cloning-and-weaponised-ai-global-wake-up-call-to-organised-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=83720","title":{"rendered":"Deepfakes, voice cloning and weaponised AI: Global wake-up call to organised fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\u201cThe scammer was extraordinarily believable,\u201d Kim Sawyer, a former university professor in Melbourne, said. \u201cHe had a British accent, used all the right financial market terms and knew how to induce us by appearing credible every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sawyers are not an isolated case.<\/p>\n

Using sophisticated cyber-tools, artificial intelligence and impersonation techniques, scammers trapped in centres across Southeast Asia have been defrauding victims of their savings for billions of dollars. In 2024, the United States\u00a0alone reported losses amounting to $10 billion to scam operations based in the region[AP1]\u00a0[LG2]\u00a0.<\/p>\n

The victims that scammers target are all over the world and, in many cases, highly educated: the Sawyers both have master\u2019s degrees and are experienced stock market investors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Partnerships against organised fraud<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Though scams are becoming increasingly global, the response to these crimes is also becoming transnational.<\/p>\n

Governments, law enforcement agencies, private companies and civil society were brought together by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and INTERPOL at the\u00a0Global Fraud Summit in Vienna, Austria, with a mandate to work more closely together including:<\/p>\n