FBI Warns of AI Voice Scams Impersonating US Govt Officials

FBI has warned about a sophisticated vishing and smishing campaign using AI-generated voice memos to impersonate senior US officials and target their contacts.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning regarding a growing threat where malicious individuals are using artificial intelligence (AI) to mimic the voices of high-ranking United States officials. These AI-generated voice memos, combined with deceptive text messages, are being used in attempts to target current/former government officials, and individuals in their contact lists.

According to the FBI’s announcement, since April 2025, these “malicious actors” have employed techniques known as “smishing” (using SMS or text messages) and “vishing” (using voice messages) to create memos that appear as if they originate from senior US officials. The goal is to build trust and establish a connection with the targeted individuals. The FBI explicitly stated, “If you receive a message claiming to be from a senior US official, do not assume it is authentic.”

According to the FBI, once contact is made, the perpetrators try to access the personal accounts of their targets. One method involves sending malicious links within these messages, which when victims click, will move the conversation to a different, supposedly more secure messaging platform. However, in reality, these links likely lead to malicious websites designed to steal login credentials or install malware.

The FBI warns of a potential cascading effect where one successful compromise could lead to multiple others. These “bad actors” can use compromised accounts to target other US officials or their associates, and the stolen information can be used to craft convincing impersonations or launch further social engineering attacks. The FBI also cautioned that “contact information acquired through social engineering schemes could also be used to impersonate contacts to elicit information or funds.”

While the FBI did not disclose the specific US officials being impersonated, their announcement indicated that most of the targets are “current or former senior US federal or state government officials and their contacts.” This suggests a widespread campaign targeting individuals with potentially sensitive information or access.

In December 2024, the FBI had concerns about the increasing use of generative AI by criminals to conduct various financial fraud schemes on a larger scale. This technology allows for the creation of realistic text, images, audio, and video, making it easier to deceive unsuspecting victims into sending money or falling prey to other scams. Moreover, experts have noted a significant rise in the use of AI-based voice cloning. According to a report by CrowdStrike, the weaponization of this technology saw a dramatic increase of 442% between the first and second halves of 2024.

Now this latest warning from the FBI highlights the continuous rise in sophisticated AI tools being weaponized for social engineering attacks, posing a significant risk to high-profile individuals and possibly national security. The agency urges vigilance when receiving unsolicited messages, especially those claiming to be from senior officials.

Max Gannon, Intelligence Manager at Cofense commented on the latest announcement stating, “While the IC3 alert does say ‘malicious actors typically use software to generate phone numbers that are not attributed to a specific mobile phone or subscriber,’ it is important to note that threat actors can also spoof known phone numbers of trusted organizations or people, adding an extra layer of deception to the attack.“

“Additionally, phone filtering does not typically detect when the number is being spoofed, giving a false sense of security to users who rely on their phones to tell them when something is a scam call,” Max explained.