Nine ways to protect yourself from ‘impostor’ voice scams

Criminals are increasingly using generative AI to mimic voices of real people and scam their loved ones out of money.

Last week, I chronicled the harrowing ordeal of Linda Roan, a Colorado woman who received a frantic call from someone who sounded just like her daughter. An alleged abductor then got on the line and demanded money in return for her daughter’s release. The nightmare only ended after Roan wired $2,000 and the caller hung up. Roan soon discovered her daughter had been safe at home the whole time.

If you get a call like this, the best thing to do is to hang up and call your loved one right away. Scammers work quickly to create a sense of urgency, often by threatening their victims if they attempt to contact anyone during the call.

“I don’t care if they tell you not to contact someone, do it anyway,” says Tom Tovar, CEO of Appdome, a mobile app security company. “If it’s a manipulation, it will be thinly veiled and you can break through.”

I’ve gathered some other ways you can protect yourself from these phone-related “impostor” scams—both in advance and in the moment. Some tips are from cybersecurity experts, and others came from readers who responded to my column about Roan’s crisis.

What you can do now

Lock down your social media. Scammers can use social media to pick their targets. If your Facebook profile photo includes you and your children or grandchildren, scammers know they can gain leverage by posing as one of them. Consider making your always-public profile picture only of yourself. And keep your accounts and posts private, so strangers can’t learn the names of your children, grandchildren and other relatives.

Block unknown callers. If you receive a call from an unknown number, you can let it go to voicemail. Or let tech do that for you. iPhones have a setting that allows people to silence calls from unknown numbers. Newer Android phones also have spam-protection settings. There are also apps that will screen calls, which I wrote about in this column. If it’s actually your doctor’s office or some other important caller, they will leave a message.

Create a code word. Family members should create a unique but easy-to-remember code word that can be used if anyone receives a suspicious call. When your son Bobby calls and says he needs to be bailed out of jail, ask Bobby for the code word. If he can’t provide it, hang up and call Bobby’s phone.

If a scammer calls…

Don’t believe caller ID. Scammers can spoof numbers to make them appear to be from a loved one. They often call from local area codes to make it seem like they are nearby, even when they are in another country. Roan answered her phone because it appeared to be from her area, but the scammers asked her to wire money to Mexico.

Don’t panic. Scammers are successful because they induce fear. When our brains are in fight-or-flight mode, we struggle to keep a clear head. But there are ways to trick yourself into staying calm.

Biopsychologist Mary Poffenroth suggests massaging the curve of your hand between your thumb and forefinger. That activates the vagus nerve, she says, which counteracts the panic. Taking deep breaths can also help you think rationally.

Text the real person. If you are trapped on a call with someone who either claims to be your loved one or claims to hold your loved one hostage, flip to your messaging app and text that person.

Roan says she thought about doing this but was scared that the sound of her tapping would alert the man on the phone. You can turn off audible tapping sounds in your phone’s sound settings without silencing the ringer or other sounds. (In iOS, Apple calls it “Keyboard Feedback.”)

You can silence an iPhone quickly using the Control Center: Just swipe down from the top right. On older phones, there is a physical switch on the left side. On Samsung and Google Pixel phones, you can enable silent mode in the settings.

Try someone else. If the person isn’t texting you back right away, text others who might know where he or she is. Scammers who impersonate grandchildren often tell the grandparents not to call their parents for fear of getting in trouble. Don’t believe that. If Bobby isn’t responding to your texts, text Bobby’s parents to verify his story.

Check your person’s location. If you track your family member’s location, check it while you’re on the call. If Bobby says he’s in jail but his location shows him at school, it’s a scam.

Report it. If you do receive a scam call—even if you recognize it and hang up—report it to the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Write to Julie Jargon at Julie.Jargon@wsj.com