AI Face-Swap and Voice-Cloning Impersonation Scam Targeting Leaders and Acquaintances for Transfers: Using Fake Video and Voice to Trick You into Paying

Who Gets Targeted

The victims are highly concentrated among finance staff, cashiers, and cashier assistants at small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as middle-aged and elderly people who live apart from their children. The former group's psychological weakness lies in a natural obedience to superiors and a workplace habit of not questioning urgent instructions; the latter, because they have long missed their relatives and lack the ability to distinguish real from fake technology, instantly lower their guard upon hearing a familiar voice and seeing a familiar face. Scammers deliberately create high-pressure scenarios such as 'urgent transfer,' 'do not leak this,' 'the client is waiting,' and 'the account is frozen,' causing victims to skip verification and complete transfers within 10 minutes to 2 hours. Afterward, recovering the funds is extremely difficult.

骗局怎么运作

• First, information reconnaissance and sample collection: scammers collect frontal face photos and a few seconds of voice samples of the target leader or relative (such as opening speeches, annual meeting addresses, or phone messages) through social platforms, corporate websites, short videos, public meeting recordings, and other channels. They then purchase internal corporate contact lists, reporting relationships, and recent project updates via the dark web or WeCom groups to determine the most suitable identity to impersonate and the script to use.
• Second, AI face-swap and voice-cloning production: using open-source or overseas face-swap models and voiceprint cloning tools, they train the collected facial and voice samples into usable models. According to a Xinhua investigation, the cost of a single face swap has fallen to as low as 20 yuan, and 3 seconds of audio is enough to clone a similar voiceprint. They then use voice-changing software to adjust tone, rhythm, and catchphrases to create a highly realistic 'call from the boss.'
• Third, luring the victim into the trap and isolating them before requesting money: scammers add finance staff or family members via forged emails, WeChat, or QQ, using excuses such as 'an impromptu meeting,' 'signing a contract,' or 'poor signal, let's use text' to avoid in-depth conversation. Once trust is established, they request a transfer under reasons such as 'a payment needs to be made from the account,' 'the client is urgently waiting,' or 'bid security deposit,' while creating a high-pressure atmosphere of 'keep it confidential,' 'don't ask,' and 'do it immediately.'
• Fourth, closing with video calls to prompt the transfer: when the other party asks for phone or video confirmation of identity, scammers directly invoke the trained AI face-swap and voiceprint models to conduct real-time video or voice calls, letting the victim see a familiar 'face' and hear a 'familiar voice,' further dispelling doubts. Xinhua reported that in some cases victims completed multiple large transfers in just 10 minutes, with a single case reaching as high as 4.3 million yuan.
• Fifth, fund splitting and cross-border transfer: once the fraudulent funds arrive, they are immediately dispersed through first-tier cards into dozens of second- and third-tier bank cards or cryptocurrency wallets. A 'money laundering' team then splits, withdraws, or converts the funds into stablecoins and moves them overseas within hours. By the time the victimized company notices the anomaly and contacts the bank, the funds have often been stripped away through multiple layers of channels. The success rate of recovering stolen funds is less than 10%, and public security organs must rely on voiceprint comparison, IP tracing, and penetrating the fund chain to identify the gang behind the scenes.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Suddenly claiming to be a 'leader,' 'boss,' or 'relative' via an unknown number or a newly added WeChat/QQ account, asking to be added under the pretext of 'I changed my number' or 'temporary contact,' and refusing verification through the original channel.
• 🚩 During a video call, abnormal eye blinking, slight mismatch between lip movements and voice, blurred jagged edges at the screen edges, or stuttering, distortion, or tearing when the person is asked to turn their head to the side, raise a hand, or move their head quickly.
• 🚩 The other party repeatedly stresses 'keep it confidential,' 'it's urgent,' 'don't ask colleagues,' 'don't hang up,' or 'it's inconvenient to take other verification calls during the meeting,' deliberately creating an isolated high-pressure scenario to prevent any form of third-party verification.
• 🚩 The account information is an unfamiliar personal name or a recently established company account; the payee does not match the claimed 'leader' or 'project party' at all; and the reason for the transfer is vague or repeatedly changed.
• 🚩 After the call ends, the other party quickly urges the victim to send a screenshot of the receipt and show proof of payment, keeps pressuring with 'the client is waiting' or 'miss it and it's over,' and refuses to arrange any in-person meeting or face-to-face confirmation time.

真实案例

• On June 23, 2026, Xinhua News Agency's investigation 'Uncovering the Black Industry Chain of "AI Face-Swap" Fraud' reported that Jiaozhou police in Shandong traced the entire criminal chain around the flow of funds and information, traveled to 4 provinces to carry out arrests, and arrested a total of 14 suspects. They seized more than 80 computers and mobile phones, 60 cloud servers, and more than 50,000 AI-synthesized dynamic face videos; the gang sold more than 80,000 accounts and illegally profited more than 600,000 yuan. (Source: http://www.sd.xinhuanet.com/20260623/b11fd8330c2341cbbbe46fafb4911edc/c.html)
• On August 19, 2025, CCTV and Tencent News reported that criminals used AI face-swap and voice-cloning technology to impersonate Olympic champions Sun Yingsha, Wang Chuqin, and Quan Hongchan, posting product-promotion content such as 'I am the little assistant' on Douyin and other social platforms. Many fans mistakenly believed the champions were endorsing the products and placed orders. After the platform and public security organs intervened, the relevant accounts were taken down and users were warned of the impersonation risk. (Source: https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20250819A07Q9500)
• According to a CCTV and Tencent News report on August 19, 2025, criminals used AI face-swap and voice-cloning technology to impersonate athletes such as Sun Yingsha, Wang Chuqin, and Quan Hongchan and posted product-promotion information on social platforms. Many fans believed it was real and placed orders and paid. After the platform and police intervened, the relevant accounts were taken down and users were warned about the impersonation.
• On February 27, 2026, Tencent News reported an AI voice-cloning fraud case: Wu Mou-tao went to the victim's home, called his handler on the spot via voice call, and the handler used AI voice-cloning technology to imitate the voice of the victim's relative and impersonate the relative to gain trust, defrauding three elderly people of a total of 60,000 yuan in cash. Wu Mou-tao handed the money to others and profited 1,700 yuan from it, and has been sentenced in accordance with the law. (Source: https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20260227A02O8200)

Official Stance

• The Ministry of Public Security and public security organs in multiple places issued an emergency warning in 2026: beware of the 'silent unknown call' trap, in which scammers use AI voiceprint cloning to commit fraud. When receiving a call from an acquaintance or leader asking for a transfer, be sure to verify in person or by phone through the original channel.
• On April 28, 2026, Xinhua News Agency published 'Xinhua Investigation | Beware of AI "Customer Service" Phone Scams,' warning that AI can already generate human-like voices in batches for phone fraud, and calling on the public to hang up on any call requesting transfers, verification codes, or passwords and verify through official channels.
• On June 23, 2026, Xinhua News Agency published 'Uncovering the Black Industry Chain of "AI Face-Swap" Fraud,' noting that the cost of face-swap and voice-changing technology has fallen to as low as 20 yuan, and calling for coordinated efforts in corporate financial systems, social platform review, and personal privacy protection.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ When receiving any call or video from a 'leader,' 'relative,' or 'client' requesting a transfer, hang up immediately and call the other party's original mobile number, office landline, or family phone to verify. Do not directly call back the incoming number, to avoid being intercepted by caller ID spoofing software and AI-synthesized voice.
• ✅ During a video call, proactively ask the other party to slowly turn their head left and right, wave a hand in front of their face, or cover half their face with a tissue, and observe whether the image becomes distorted, misaligned, or fails to track. Real-time AI face swaps are highly prone to revealing themselves during rapid movement and occlusion.
• ✅ Strictly implement multi-level approval systems for corporate finance. Every transfer must be cross-confirmed by at least two people offline or by phone; it is forbidden to make a payment based solely on a single phone call or video. For emergency payments above a certain amount, set delayed settlement and whitelist account restrictions.
• ✅ Do not expose long face and voice footage in short videos, online meeting recordings, or public speeches; turn off social platform options that authorize training on your photos and videos; and regularly clear public voice messages. If you discover that you are being impersonated, report it to the platform and call the police promptly.
• ✅ Set up an 'anti-fraud code word' in family group chats, agreeing that any request involving borrowing or transfers must first answer a specific question known only to family members. Install anti-fraud apps on elderly family members' phones and enable interception of suspected scam calls, and regularly educate the elderly about typical AI face-swap and voice-cloning cases.