How I almost fell victim of scammers using AI to mimic world leader‘s voice — Thailand PM

Thailand’s Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has disclosed an encounter with a phone scam involving artificial intelligence, where the system mimicked the voice of a prominent world leader to demand money.

Speaking about the incident, Paetongtarn recounted, “The voice was very clear, and I recognised it immediately. They first sent a voice clip, saying something like, ‘How are you? I want to work together,’ and so on.”

She explained that the interaction escalated when she missed a call from the same number and received another message directly asking for financial support.

“They sent another voice message asking for a donation, saying, ‘You are the only country in (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) that hasn’t donated yet,’ emphasizing it. I was taken aback for a moment and realized something was off,” she said. Paetongtarn suspects that AI technology was used to replicate the leader’s voice.

Scams of this nature are not uncommon in Southeast Asia. The region has become a hotspot for cybercrime, with transnational organisations leveraging advanced technology to exploit victims globally.

In January, a Chinese actor was lured to Bangkok for what he believed was a movie audition but was instead trafficked to a scam centre in Myanmar. Similar stories have surfaced, with victims often forced into cryptocurrency fraud.

Experts have warned that the rise of AI, particularly tools capable of cloning voices, could fuel such scams. Last year, OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, unveiled a voice replication tool, Voice Engine, but withheld its public release due to concerns about potential misuse.

Paetongtarn, who assumed office in August 2024, is the latest leader in her family’s political dynasty. She follows in the footsteps of her father and aunt, both former prime ministers of Thailand.

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