DESIGNATION X-4: THE CHILDREN BORN OF AI

Imagine this: your child is not with you - maybe they're at a sleepover, or a school event, or maybe even with friends or family. Suddenly, you get a phone call, and your child's voice is on the other end -- they sound very distressed and are asking for help. 

"Mom, some bad men took me and they want money to let me go!"

"Dad, I got lost and I'm scared, I'm at [location], please come pick me up!"

"Grandma, I'm in trouble, I need some money..."

These are all things you'd dread hearing from your child over the phone -- and this is exactly why scammers and traffickers use these tactics to hook you, because they immediately trigger an emotional reaction that makes you less likely to think logically. Now, with the use of AI technology and recordings, scammers can easily replicate your child's voice, no matter their age -- all they need is a small sample.

You might think there's no way these people could possibly have gotten your child's voice -- but you would most likely be wrong. 

Have you ever posted videos of your child on social media? Those cute, short little videos of them singing Disney songs? How about your baby's first words?

Has your child ever answered the phone, or the door? 

Do you have an Alexa device? We all know kids just love talking to those. Did you know that Amazon settled for 25 million dollars in a lawsuit pertaining to recording children's voices? Amazon retained these recordings indefinitely, unless a parent "requested that the information be deleted." And even when a parent did request it, Amazon failed to delete the transcripts from their databases. Geolocation data was also not deleted, a problem that Amazon has repeatedly failed to fix. The lawsuit alleged that Amazon knew about these problems as early as 2018, but did not take any action.

So how do you really know it's your child, your friend, or your family member on the line? The only way to know for sure is to have a designated "password" or passphrase that can be used to confirm their identity. Be sure it's something that no one else would know, and practice scenarios with young children so they do not forget it.